LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERliW 




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JUN 22 1B83L 



PHILADELPHIA: 
CHARLES FOSTER, 

118 S. Seventh Street. 



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JESUS IN THE MANGER. 



Copyrighted 1882, by Charles Poster. 





PREFACE. 



A considerable portion of this 
book was read during its prepara- 
tion to children in Kindergartens. 
They appeared to be interested, and 
listened attentively. It was found 
important when reading to them to 
speak slowly and distinctly, thus 
giving the little hearers time to 
understand every word. 

Although the author's aim has 
been to make the book answer its 
purpose without alteration or addi- 
tion, it would always be well for the 
judicious parent or teacher, when 
instructing from it, to enlarge on 
the text and modify the questions 
according to the age and intel- 
ligence of the pupils. 




JESUS BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 



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WANT 

talk with you a lit- 
tle while and tell 
you what I saw. As 
I was passing by a 
house I saw a bird- 
cage hanging in the 
window, with a beau- 
tiful little bird in it. 
The cage was new, 
and it was very pretty. 

I know who made it. A man made the cage 
*to sell it and get money for it. But the 




6 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



man did not make the bird. Men can make 
cages and chairs and tables and houses, and a 
great many other things, but they cannot 
make things that are alive. Only God can 
make them. 

God lives up in heaven. We cannot see 
him, but he looks down and sees us. He sees 
us all the time, not only in the day, but in 
the night too. 

In the night it is dark. Then we lie down 
on our beds and go to sleep. The sun goes 
away in the night, and we see the moon 
and the stars shining up in the sky. But 
in the morning, when the sun comes again, 
we cannot see the moon and the stars any 
more. 

God made the sun and the moon and the 
stars, and he put them up in the sky, where 
we can see them. 

Now I am going to ask you some questions 
to see if you remember what I have read to 
you. 



What did I see hanging in a window ? 
What was in the cage ? 



FIRST STEPS FOE, LITTLE FEET. 



Who made the cage ? 

Did a man make the bird ? 

Can men make a great many other things beside 
cages? 

But can they make things that are alive ? 

Who can make things that are alive ? 

Where does God live? 

Does he look down and see us in the day, and in 
the night too? 

What do we see at night if we look up at the sky? 

But in the morning, when the sun comes again, can 
we see the moon and the stars any more ? 

Who made the sun, the moon, and the stars, and 
put them up in the sky ? 




FIKST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 




then the 



2. But we see something else 
up in the sky besides the sun 

and the moon and the stars. 
We see the clouds there. 

The rain comes down from 
the clouds, and in winter, when 
it gets cold, the snow comes 
down from the clouds. 

Sometimes in winter, when 
you get up in the morning and 
look out of the window, the 
ground is all covered with white. 
The snow makes it white. Then 
you put on your warm coat and 
your thick shoes and run out 
and play in the snow. 

God made the clouds, and he 
made the rain and the snow 
that come down on the ground. 

After the snow has all gone, 
flowers come in the spring. How 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 11 

pretty the red roses are, and the 

green grass is pretty too, 

and the trees covered all 

over with leaves. The 

birds fly about among 

the trees and flowers. 

Once I went to a 

house in the country. 

It had a porch around 

it. There was 

a honeysuckle 



% 





growing over the 
porch. I looked 
in among the 
leaves, and there 
I saw some dry grass 
and little sticks all 
twisted together. It 
was a bird's nest. 

The bird was sitting «vi| 

on the nest. I could 
see its little bill and its shining black eyes 
and its red breast, It was a robin. 



12 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Presently it flew away. Then I saw three 
little young birds in the nest. Very soon 
their mother came back. She had a worm 
in her mouth, and she fed the little robins 
with it. Little birds love worms as much as 
little boys love bread and butter. 

And I saw another 
bird ; it was very small, 
hardly any bigger than 
your little finger. It 
was called a humming- 
bird, because it made 
a humming noise when 
it was flying. 

Then I saw a big 
bird called an eagle. 
A man had shot it 
with his gun. He was 
in a wagon driving 
along the road, and he stopped his wagon and 
held up the eagle for me to see it. 

It had sharp, crooked claws on its feet. 
When it was alive it was so strong that it 
could pick up a little lamb or a little pig 
and fly away with it. 



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EAGLE AND HUMMING-BIRD. 



14 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Ducks and geese are birds too. They love 
to swim on the water. God made them all. 
He made the robin and the little humming- 
bird and the big eagle, 
and all the other birds, 
and he taught them 
how to build their nests. 




DUCKS AND GEESE. 



If I should give you some dry grass and 
little sticks, and tell you to make a nest out 
of them, you could not make so nice a nest 
as the little birds can. But then the little 
birds cannot go to school and learn to read 
as you can. 

What else do we see up in the sky besides the sun, 
the niooD, and the stars ? 



FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 15 



What comes down from the clouds ? 

Who made the clouds and the snow and the rain ? 

After the snow has all gone, what comes in the 
spring ? 

What did I see in a honeysuckle vine? 

What was sitting on the nest? 

What did I see in the nest when the robin flew 
away ? 

When the robin came back, what had she in her 
mouth ? 

What did she do with the worm ? 

How much do little birds love to eat worms ? 

What other bird did I see that was very small, 
hardly any bigger than your little finger ? 

Why is it called the humming-bird ? 

What big bird did I see with sharp, crooked claws 
on its feet? 

When the eagle was alive what could it pick up in 
its sharp claws and fly away with ? 

What do ducks and geese love to do ? 

Who made all the birds, and taught them to build 
their nests ? 

If I should give you some grass and some little 
sticks, could you build as nice a nest as the birds 
can? 

But what can vou do that the birds cannot do ? 



16 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



3- And God made the animals. Some 
animals are wild, and live out in the woods, 




WOLVES AND BEARS. 



some animals 
cows and sheep. 



like wolves and bears. And 
are tame, like horses and 

Tame animals do not live out in the woods. 
They stay where men can take care of them. 
The horse works for the man who takes care 
of him. He pulls his wagon and he pulls his 
plough. The cow gives the man nice milk for 
taking care of her, and the sheep gives him 
wool. 



FIKST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



17 




HORSE, COW, AND SHEEP. 



Wool grows on the sheep's back. Men take 
big scissors, called shears, and cut the wool off 
of the sheep's back, and they make clothes out 
of it. Your warm clothes that you wear in 
winter are made out of wool that grew on 
the sheep's back. 



18 



FIKST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Lions and tigers are wild animals. They 
are very fierce, and can kill people, but they 




LION AND TIGER. 



do not live in this country where we live. 
They live in countries far away from here. 
We often see pictures of them, and some- 
times we see them alive when men have them 
to show. But the men have to keep them in 
very strong cages, so that they cannot get out 
and hurt us. 

Who made the animals ? 

Where do the wild animals live ? 



FIEST STEPS FOE LITTLE EEET. 19 



Do the tame animals live out in the woods ? 

Do men have to take care of the tame animals ? 

AYhat does the horse do for the man who takes 
care of him? 

What does the cow give the man who takes care 
of her? 

What grows on the sheep's back ? 

What do the men make out of the wool that grows 
on the sheep's back ? 

Are lions and tigers very fierce animals ? 

Do they live in this country where we live ? 

Do men sometimes bring them here to show? 

Why do the men have to keep them shut up in 
very strong cages ? 




20 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



4. Axd God made the fishes. They live 
under the water. They do not have wings 
to fly with, like the birds, or feet to walk 
with, like the animals. They have fins to 
swim with. Some of the fishes are very 
small ; you can hold them in your hand. 
They could not hurt you, but you could easily 
hurt them. 

But there are some fishes that are very 
large and strong and fierce. They have 
great mouths, with sharp teeth in them, and 
sometimes they eat up men. These fierce 
fishes are called sharks ; they live in the sea. 

And there are a great many other kinds 
of fishes that you and I never saw, because 
they are hidden under the water. They are 
swimming about there all the time, in the 
ponds and in the rivers and in the ocean. 
God made the fishes to live in the water. 
If we take them out of the water they die. 

Who made the fishes ? 

Where do the fishes live ? 

What do they have to swim with ? 

Are there some large fierce fishes that can eat men? 

What are they called ? 



22 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Are there a great many other kinds of fishes that 
we never see ? 

Where did God make the fishes to live ? 

If we take them out of the water, what happens 
to them ? 



5 B Butterflies are insects. They are very 

pretty ; they have 
large wings with 
bright colors on 
them. Some of 
them have red 
wings, some yel- 
low, and some 
blue. They fly 
about the fields 
and the woods in 
the summer-time. 
The bee is not 
so pretty as the 
butterfly, but it 
is more useful, because it makes honey. It 
lives in a little house that men make for it. 
This house is called a hive. Early, before you 




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BUTTERFLY. 



FIKST STEPS FOPv LITTLE FEET. 



23 



are awake, in the morning, it comes out of its 

hive and flies away to the flowers. 

It finds drops of honey in the flowers, and 

it takes the honey and carries it back to the 
hive, and puts it away 
there. The bee goes on 
doing this until its hive 
is full of honey. Then 
men come and get the 
honey out of the hive, 
and they take it home 
with them, because it 
is nice and sweet to 
eat. 



God made 
the butterfly 
and the bee 
and all the 
other little 
insects. There 
is one little 
insect that 
flies about at 




night, and 




24 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



makes a bright light wherever it goes, just as 
if it were carrying a little lamp with it. It 
is named the firefly. 



What are butterflies called ? 

What are some of the colors on butterflies' wings ? 

Where do they fly about in the summer-time ? 

Is the little bee as pretty as the butterfly ? 

Why is it more useful ? 

What is the name of the little house that the bee 
lives in ? 

What does the bee find in the flowers ? 

What does it do with the honey ? 

Is honey good to eat ? 

Who made the butterfly and the bee and all the 
other little insects? 

What does the firefly do ? 



6. One day, as I was walking along the 
street, I sa^v a strange-looking man. His 
clothes were different from our clothes, and 
his shoes were different from our shoes, and 
his face looked different from other people's 
faces. 




JAPANESE. 



26 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

I will tell you why lie looked so different 
from us : lie came from another country, a 
great way from here. If you wanted to go 
to the country where that man came from, 
you could not go in a carriage, or even in a 
railroad-car. You would have to get in a big 
ship and sail away £>\er the sea. 

After you had sailed a great many days 
and nights you would come to the country 
where that strange-looking man lived. And 
when you got out of the ship and walked on 
the land, you would see a great many more 
men who looked like him. 

God made all those men. He made all the 
men and women and little children in the 
world. And he made you and me. We 
ought to love God, because he is our heavenly 
Father, who made us and is very kind to us. 



What sort of a looking man did I meet one day ? 

Did his clothes look like other people's clothes, or 
his face like other people's faces ? 

Why did this man look so different from other 
persons ? 

If you wanted to go to the country that he came 
from, how would you have to go? 



28 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



When you got there would you see a great many 
more men that looked like the one I met in the 
street ? 

Who made all the men and women and little chil- 
dren in the world? 

Why ought we to love God ? 

7. And God made the angels. The angels 
do not live in this world where we live ; they 
live up in heaven with God. They are very 
good, and never do w r rong ; they do only those 
things that God tells them to do. Sometimes 
God sends the angels down to this world. 

I want to tell you a story about an angel. 
Once there was a little boy named Ishmael. 
His mother was named Hagar. And Hagar, 
the little boy's mother, had to go away from 
her home. Ishmael's father sent her away. 

So she took Ishmael and went out into the 
wilderness : that means out into the fields and 
woods where nobody lived. It was very warm 
in that country ; the sun shone very bright 
and hot there. And the little boy Ishmael 
wanted some water to drink, but his mother 
had none to give him. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 29 




HAGAR IS SEST AWAY. 



And because he could not get any water to 
drink he was very sick, and was going to die. 
Then his mother laid him under a bush in the 



30 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



shade, because it was not so hot in the shade 
as it was in the sun. 

And after Hagar had laid him in the shade 
she went a little way off, where she could not see 
him, for she did not want to see her little boy 
die. And she cried because she was troubled. 

And God sent an angel down from heaven, 
and the angel came and spoke to Hagar, and 
asked what ailed her. And the angel told her 
not to cry, but to take Ishmael up and hold 
him in her arms. Then the angel showed 
Hagar where some water was coming up out 
of the ground. 

And Hagar took some of the water and 
gave it to her little boy Ishmael to drink. 
And he got well and strong, and afterward he 
grew up to be a man. And he lived out in 
the wilderness, and used to shoot with a bow 
and arrow. 

Who live up in heaven with God ? 
Are the angels very good ? 
Do they always do what God tells them to do ? 
Does God ever send them down to this world ? 
What was the name of the little boy hi this 
story? 



32 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Did his mother take Ishmael out into the wilder- 
ness ? 

What does " the wilderness " mean ? 

Was it very hot in that country ? 

What made Ishmael sick ? 

Where did his mother lay him when she thought 
he was going to die ? 

Why did she leave him and go a little way off, 
where she could not see him? 

Whom did God send down from heaven to speak 
to Hagar? 

What did the angel show Hagar that was coming 
up out of the ground ? 

What did Hagar do with the water? 

Did Ishmael get well after that, and grow up to 
be a man ? 

Where did he live ? 

What did he use to shoot with ? 




FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 33 



8. Let me tell you another story about an 
angel. Once there was a great king. A king 
is a man that everybody has to mind. And 
this king I am telling you about had some 
lions. He kept them in a den ; that means 
a place where they were shut up, so that they 
could not get out and hurt any one with their 
great teeth and claws. 

And there was a very good man named 
Daniel in that country. But there were some 
bad men too, who wanted to hurt Daniel. So 
they went to the king and asked him to let 
them put Daniel in the lions' den. 

Now, the king did not want them to do 
this, but they persuaded him until he let 
them do it. So the bad men took Daniel 
and put him in the lions' den. Then they 
rolled a great stone to the door of the den, 
so that Daniel could not get out, and they 
left him there alone with the lions. 

, After they had done this the king was 
very sorry, and he went home . to his house. 
But he could not sleep all night, because he 
was thinking about Daniel. 

The next morning he got up very early 



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FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 35 



and went in haste to the den of lions. And 
he called out with a sad voice, Daniel, for 
the king was afraid that Daniel was killed. 
But Daniel heard him in the lions' den, and 
he answered the king and told him that he 
was not hurt. 

God had sent an angel, Daniel said, and 
the angel stayed with him in the den, and 
would not let the lions hurt him. Then the 
king was very glad, and he told his servants 
to take Daniel up out of the den. 

And they took him up, and found that he 
was not hurt at all, because the angel had 
taken care of him. Let us be good and mind 
God like Daniel, and then perhaps God will 
send an angel to take care of us if wicked 
people should want to do us harm. 



What did the king in this story have ? 

Where did he keep the lions ? 

Why did he keep them in the den ? 

What was the name of a good man who lived in 
that country ? 

What did some bad men want the king to let 
them do to Daniel ? 



36 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Did the king want them to put Daniel in the 
lions' den ? 

Did the bad men persuade him until he let them 
do it? 

How did they shut up the den after they had put 
Daniel into it ? 

How did the king feel after he had let them do 
this to Daniel ? 

Could he sleep when he went home to his house 
that night? 

Where did he go early the next morning ? 

Whom did he call when he came to the lions' 
den? 

Did Daniel hear him calling ? 

Whom had God sent to be with Daniel in the 
lions' den ? 

And what had the angel kept the lions from do- 
ing? 

Was the king very glad when he heard this ? 

What did he tell his servants to do ? 

When they took Daniel up out of the lions' den, 
was he hurt at all ? 

If we are good and mind God like Daniel, what, 
perhaps, may God do for us ? 



FIKST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 37 



9« The angels live up in heaven with God. 
And God's Son lives up in heaven too. His 
name is Jesus. A great while ago God sent 
his Son Jesus down to this world where we 
live. I want you to listen while I tell you 
about it. 

In a country very far away from here there 
was a city. A city is a place where there are 
a great many houses and a great many people. 
The city I am telling you about was named 
Bethlehem. 

One day a young woman named Mary came 
to Bethlehem. Her husband was named Jo- 
seph. Mary and Joseph did not live in Beth- 
lehem; it was not their home. They came 
there to stay only a little while, so they went 
to a house called an inn, where persons used 
to go to sleep. 

But the inn was full of people. The man 
at the inn said there was no room for them. 
Then Mary and Joseph went into the stable 
to sleep. 

A stable, you know, is a place where horses 
and cows are kept. There is a place in the 
stable for horses to lie down, and there is a 




THERE IS NO ROOM FOR THEM AT THE I>">\ 



FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 39 



place for them to eat out of. The place that 
horses eat out of is called a manger. 

Little children eat out of plates, but horses eat 
out of mangers. When a man feeds his horse 
he pours some corn into the manger. Then the 
horse puts his mouth down into the manger 
and eats up the corn. And there was a man- 
ger in the stable where Mary and Joseph 
had come. 

But now it was night ; it was not the time 
to put corn in the manger for the horses to 
eat. But the manger was not empty. No, 
if you had been there and looked into it you 
would have seen a little baby in the manger. 

This baby was named Jesus, and Jesus was 
God's Son. God had sent Jesus to Mary. 
And Mary had no nice bed or cradle to lay 
her baby in there in the stable. So when 
she had wrapped some clothes around him 
she laid him in the manger for his cradle. 

Where do the angels live? 
And who else lives up in heaven with God? 
Did Jesus ever come down to this world ? 
What was the name of the citv he came to ? 




MARY LAYS JESUS IX THE MAHGKK. 



FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 41 



What was his mother's name ? 

And what her husband's name ? 

Did Mary, and Joseph live in Bethlehem, or did 
they come there to stay only a little while ? 

What house did they go to when they first came to 
Bethlehem? 

Why could they not stay at the inn ? 

Where did they go then to sleep ? 

What do men keep in a stable ? 

Is there a place in the stable for horses tt eat out 
of? 

What do we call that place ? 

Was it time now to put corn in the manger for the 
horses to eat ? 

Was the manger empty, then ? 

If you had been there and looked into it, what 
would you have found? 

What was this baby's name ? 

Who had sent Jesus to Mary ? 

Had Mary any nice bed or cradle to lay her baby 
in there in the stable ? 

When she had wrapped some clothes around him 
where did she lay him ? 



42 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



10. I^ T that country the people used to 
have a great many sheep. These sheep stayed 
out in the fields to eat the grass. But some- 









WOLVES KILLING SHEEP. 



times wild beasts, such as bears and wolves, 
came into the fields and killed the sheep, so 
that men had to stay with them to take care 
of them. 

The men who stayed with the sheep were 
called shepherds. They stayed with the sheep 
in the day, and in the night too, for the night 
was the time when the wild beasts came to 
kill the sheep. 



44 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



On the night that Jesus was born some 
shepherds were out in the field taking care 
of their sheep. And an angel came down 
from heaven and spoke to them. When the 
shepherds saw the angel they were afraid, for 
I suppose they had never seen an angel be- 
fore. 

But the angel told them not to be afraid, 
for he had come to tell them good news. A 
little child had been born, he said, to be their 
Saviour. The angel meant Jesus, and he 
called Jesus the Saviour. 



What did the people use to have a great many of 
in that country ? 

Where did the sheep stay ? 

Why did men have to stay out in the field to take 
care of them ? 

What were the men called who took care of the 
sheep ? 

Did they stay with the sheep in the day, and in the 
night too ? 

On the night that Jesus was born who came down 
from heaven and spoke to some shepherds out in the 
field? 



FIEST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



45 



How did the shepherds feel when they saw the 
angel ? 

Did the angel say he had come to tell them good 
news ? 

What little child did he say had been born ? 

What did the angel call Jesus ? 




tr'-f^y : ! \^ 



46 



FIRST STEPS FOH LITTLE FEET. 



11. I want to tell you why the angel called 
Jesus the Saviour. Suppose you were fast 
asleep in your bed at night, and the house 
where you lived should get on fire. You 
would not know it, but the fire would be 
burning more and more, and coming nearer 
and nearer to your room and to your bed, and 
very soon it would burn you. 







SAVED FROM THE FIRE. 



But suppose that just then a strong man 
should come into your room ; he would run 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



47 



to your bed and pick you up and hold you in 
his arms, and carry you out of the house to a 
safe place, .so that you would not be burned at 
all. That man would save you from the fire, 
would he not ? 

Or suppose you were out in the woods all 
alone, and you heard a sound in the bushes 
near you. You looked, and there you saw a 
fierce beast, a lion or a bear. You could not 
run away from it, because the bear could run 
faster than you. It was coming toward you, 




SAVED FROM THE BEAR. 



48 FIEST STEPS FOE, LITTLE FEET. 



nearer every minute, and you knew that very 
soon it would catch you. 

But suppose that, just as it reached you, 
you heard a gun go off, and the bear fell 
down dead. A man who was in the woods 
had seen it coming after you, and he shot it 
and killed it. That man would save you 
from the bear, would he not? 

And Jesus came down from heaven to save 
us, not from a burning house or a fierce bear, 
but he came to save us from our sins. 

Our sins are the bad things we do. And 
Jesus came to save us from doing those bad 
things, and to save us from being punished 
for them after we die. That is the reason we 
call him our Saviour. 



What did the angel call Jesus ? 

Did Jesus come down from heaven to save us from 
a burning house or from a fierce wild beast ? 

Did he come to save us from our sins ? 

What are our sins ? 

Did Jesus come to save us from doing those 
bad things? 

And did he come to save us from being punished 
for them after we die ? 

What do we call him for this ? 



50 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



12. After the angel had told the shep- 
herds that Jesus was born he said they 
could see Jesus if they would go to Bethle- 
hem ; they would find him in a stable lying 
in a manger. 

Then the shepherds said to one another, 
Let us go and see this little child that God 
has sent his angel to tell us about. So the 
shepherds left their sheep and made haste to 
Bethlehem. 

And they came into the stable, and there 
they saw Jesus lying in the manger, and 
they were glad when they saw* him. Afterward 
they went back to their sheep in the field, and 
as they went they told all the people what the 
angel had said to them about Jesus. 

Where did the angels say the shepherds could see 
Jesus ? 

Did they go to Bethlehem and find him lying in 
the manger? 

Were they glad when they saw Jesus ? 

What did they tell all the people as they were go- 
ing back to their sheep in the field? 



52 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



13. And some other men came to see Jesus 
in Bethlehem. They were called " wise men." 
These wise men knew a great deal about the 
stars. Sometimes they used to stay up all 
night looking at the stars, trying to learn 
all about them. 

One night when they were looking up at 
the sky they saw a new star that was differ- 
ent from all the stars they had ever seen be- 
fore. God had sent that star for the wise men 
to see, so they might know that Jesus was 
born. 

And as soon as they knew that Jesus was 
born they wanted to see him. So they thought 
they would go and find him, but they lived a 
great way from Bethlehem. They did not 
know where Bethlehem was, and how should 
they find the way? I will tell you. God 
made the star that they had seen up in the 
sky move along before them, and show them 
the way to Bethlehem. 

And they followed the star and came to 
Bethlehem, and there they saw Jesus. And 
they kneeled down on the ground before him 
and worshipped him. Then they took out 




THE WISE MEN FOLLOW THE STAK. 



54 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



some presents they had brought and gave 
them to him. Afterward they went back to 
their own home. 

Did some other men beside the shepherds come 
to see Jesus in Bethlehem ? 

What were these men called '? 

What did they know a great deal about ? 

One night when they were looking up at the sky 
what did they see ? 

Who had sent that star? 

Why did God send that star for the wise men to 
see ? So they might know what ? 

After they had seen the star did they want to see 
Jesus ? 

Did they know where Bethlehem was? 

What was it that showed them the way there ? 

When they saw Jesus did they kneel down and 
worship him? 

What did they take out and give to him ? 

After that where did the wise men go ? 




56 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



14. There was a king in that country. I 
told you that the king was the man that every- 
body had to mind. But this king was very 
wicked. He sent some men to Bethlehem to 
kill all the little children who were there. He 
did this because he wanted to kill Jesus. And 
the men came to Bethlehem and killed the lit- 
tle children there, but they did not kill Jesus. 



58 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



They did not kill Jesus, because God sent an 
angel down from heaven to tell Joseph that 
the men were coming. The angel came to 
Joseph while he was asleep, and told him to 
make haste and take Jesus and Mary away 
from Bethlehem. 



60 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



So Joseph got up in the night while it was 
dark, when no one could see him, and he took 
the child Jesus and Mary his mother and went 
away to another country, where the king's men 
could not find him. 

But after a while the wicked king died, and 
then Joseph brought Jesus and Mary back tc 
their own land. And they came to a city called 
Nazareth, and Jesus lived in Nazareth till he 
grew up to be a man. But the people did nol 
know he was God's Son, for no one had told 
them this yet. 



62 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

Was there a king in that country ? 

Did every one have to mind the king? 

What did the king send some men to Bethlehem 
to do? 

Why did he send men to kill all the little children 
in Bethlehem ? 

Did the men go to Bethlehem and kill the little 
children there? 

Did they kill Jesus ? 

Who had told Joseph to take Jesus away ? 

Did Joseph mind what the angel said ? 

Where did he take Jesus and Mary his mother ? 

What happened to the wicked king after a while ? 

Did Joseph bring Jesus and Mary back to their 
own land then? 

What city did they go to live in? 

How long did Jesus live in Nazareth ? 

Did the people know he was God's Son ? 

Why did they not know this ? 



7J 




64 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



15. There was a very good man in that 
country, named John the Baptist. He did 
not live in the city where other people lived, 
he lived out in the wilderness : that means 
out in the fields and woods. He lived there 
all by himself. 

John wore a very strange coat, it was made 
of camel's hair. Camels are animals that live 
in countries where it is very warm. Some- 
times there is very little water to drink in 
those countries, and camels can go a long time 
without drinking any. They can go four or 
five days without a drink of water, and all 
that time they can carry heavy loads on their 
backs. 

God made them able to. go without water so 
that they could work for the men who live in 
those warm countries. 

Camels are very strange-looking animals ; 
they have long necks and queer-looking faces, 
and great humps on their backs. Their 
bodies are covered with hair. The people 
cut this hair off and make clothes of it. 
John the Baptist wore a coat that was made 
of camel's hair. 



66 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 




John did not eat bread such as we eat ; he 
ate locusts and wild honey. Locusts are in- 
sects something like 
grasshoppers; they 
SSE p^..,/ have wings and fly. 
'^«2^w* - There are a great 
many of them in that 
country where John the Baptist lived. The 
people there eat them. They take the locusts 
and roast them in the fire, and mix a little 
salt with them, and so make them ready to 
eat. 

John used to eat locusts, and he ate wild 
honey too. I told you that the bees made 
honey. They fly away to the flowers and take 
the drops of honey out of the flowers, and car- 
ry it to their little houses, called hives, and 
they put the honey away there. 

There were bees out in the wilderness where 
John the Baptist lived. But they were wild 
bees, and they had no hives to live in because 
there was nobody out in the wilderness to 
make hives for them. So when they found 
the honey they took it to holes in the trees 
and rocks, and put it away there. And John 




JOHN SPEAKS TO THK PKOPUE. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



the BajDtist used to go and get the honey out 
of the trees and rocks and eat it. 

And John was a very good man ; he loved 
God and did everything God told him to do. 
And now God told John he must go away 
from that place where he was living all alone ; 
he must not stay there any longer. He must 
go and teach the people about Jesus and tell 
them that Jesus was God's Son, because now 
the time had come for the people to be told 
about this. 

Then John went to a place near a river. 
There was a great deal of water in the river ; 
it was called the river Jordan. And a great 
many people came there to hear what John 
would say. And John told the people that 
very soon they would see Jesus, and John 
said that the people must get ready for Jesus 
to come to them. 

And how were they to get ready ? Were 
they to }3ut on their best clothes ? No, that 
was not the way. The way to get ready for 
Jesus was to stop doing everything that was 
wrong, and not to do wrong any more. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 69 



"What good man lived in that country ? 

Did John live in the city where other people 
lived? 

What was his coat made of? 

Do camels live in countries where it is very warm ? 

What can they go without for a long time ? 

Who made them able to go without water ? 

Why did God make them able to go without water ? 

Are camels queer-looking animals ? 

What are their bodies covered with ? 

What do the people make out of camels' hair ? 

What did John the Baptist use to eat? 

What are locusts ? 

Do the people in that country eat them ? 

What else beside locusts did John eat ? 

W 7 here did he get the honey ? 

Was John a very good man ? 

Did God tell him he must go and teach the people 
about Jesus ? 

What was the name of the river John came to ? 

Did many persons come there to hear what he 
would say ? 

Did John tell them they must get ready for Jesus 
to come ? 

Were they to get ready by putting on their best 
clothes ? 

How were they to get ready ? 



70 



FIRST STEPS FOE, LITTLE FEET. 



16. And the people minded what John 
said to them ; they stopped doing wrong, and 
promised not to do so any more. Then John 




KIYSR JORDAN 



took the people down into the river Jordan, 
and he baptized them in the river. 

And while John was baptizing the people 
Jesns came there and asked John to baptize 
him. Then John took Jesus down into the 
river and baptized him too. 

After Jesus was baptized he came up out of 
the water, and while he was coming a very 
wonderful thing happened. He heard a voice 
speaking up in the sky ; it was God's voice. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 71 



It said that Jesus was God's Son, and that 
all the people must mind him. 

And there came a beautiful bird with wings 
flying down from heaven. It looked like a 
dove. It came on Jesus, and rested on him. 
But it was not really a dove ; it was the Holy 
Spirit that looked like a dove. 

Then Jesus went out into the wilderness, 
where nobody lived. Only the wild beasts 
were there. But the wild beasts could not 
hurt Jesus, because he was the Son of God, 
and he could keep them from hurting him. 

And Jesus stayed out in the lonely wilder- 
ness with the wild beasts forty days and forty 
nights. And all that time he did not eat any 
bread or drink any water. Afterward he was 
hungry. 

Did the people mind what John said ? 

Did they promise not to do wrong any more ? 

What did John do to the people when he had 
taken them down with him into the river Jor- 
dan? 

While John was baptizing the people, who came 
and asked to be baptized ? 

Did John baptize Jesus? 



72 FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



As Jesus came out of the river whose voice did he 
hear speaking up in the sky ? 

What did it say ? 

What came flying down from heaven ? 

Where did it rest ? 

Was it really a dove, or was it God's Holy Spirit 
in the shape of a dove ? 

Where did Jesus go to after he was baptized ? 

How long did he stay out in the wilderness ? 

Did he eat any bread or drink any water in those 
forty days ? 

Was he hungiy afterward ? 




FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 73 



17. Ais t d -now, while Jesus was out in the 
wilderness, the bad Spirit came there. His 
name is Satan. He came to try and make 
Jesus do wrong. 

Satan knew that Jesus was hungry and that 
he wanted bread to eat ; so Satan told Jesus 
to change the stones that were lying on the 
ground into bread. And Jesus could easily 
have changed the stones into bread, but he 
would not do it, because that would be mind- 
ing Satan. 

Then Satan took Jesus away from the 
wilderness to a very high place on the top 
of a beautiful church called the temple. And 
Satan told Jesus to throw himself down from 
that high place, for Satan said that God would 
send some angels to catch him while he was fall- 
ing, so that he would not be hurt when he fell. 

But Jesus would not do this, either, to mind 
Satan, for Jesus knew that would be wrong. 

Then Satan took Jesus on to a very high hill 
or mountain, and he showed Jesus a great 
many beautiful countries and beautiful cities 
from that high mountain. Jesus could see 
them all at the same time. 



74 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



And Satan told Jesus that if he would only 
mind him he should have all those beautiful 
countries and cities for his own. But Jesus 
said he would mind God, and he would not 
mind Satan, for God says in the Bible that 
he is the one we must mind. 

When Satan found that Jesus would not 
mind him, Satan went away and left Jesus. 
And then some good angels came and wait- 
ed on Jesus, and perhaps they brought him 
the bread that he wanted so much. 

Sometimes Satan comes to us and tries to 
make us do wrong. We cannot see him when 
he comes, but we can tell he is near, for he 
makes us feel as if we wanted to do wrong. 

But when we feel so let us tell Satan that 
we will not do it. Then he will go away from 
us, as he went away from Jesus, and perhaps 
God will send his good angels to help us and 
to give us the things that we want. 

Who came out in the wilderness to try and make 
Jesus do wrong ? 

What did Satan tell Jesus to change the stones 
into ? 




SATAN TAKES JESUS ON THE TOP OP THE TEMPLE. 



76 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Could Jesus have changed the stones into bread ? 

But would he do it to mind Satan ? 

When Satan took Jesus up to a high place on the 
temple what did he want him to do ? 

Who did Satan say would come and catch Jesus to 
keep him from being hurt when he fell ? 

Did Jesus throw himself down from the top of the 
temple ? 

What did Satan show Jesus from the top of the 
high mountain ? 

Did Satan promise to give all these cities and 
countries to Jesus if he would mind him? 

But who did Jesus say he would mind ? 

What book tells us we must mind God ? 

When Satan found that Jesus would not mind him, 
did he go away and leave him ? 

Who came then and waited on Jesus ? 

What, perhaps, did the angels bring him that he 
wanted very much ? 

Does Satan ever come to us and try to make us do 
wrong ? 

Can we see him when he comes? 

How, then, can we tell he is near us ? 

What should we say to him when he tries to make 
us do wrong ? 

Will he go away from us if we answer him so ? 

And will God send his angels, perhaps, to help 
us then ? 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 77 



18. Jesus came to a city. I told you that 
a city is a place where there are a great many 
houses and a great many people. The city 
that Jesus came to was named Cana. There 
was a man in that city who had just been 
married, and this man made a feast for the 
persons who should come to his house Nice 
food was put on the table for them to eat, 
and wine for them to drink. 

Wine is made out of grapes. A great 
many grapes used to grow in that country, 
and the people made wine out of them. And 
now the man who had been married put some 
wine on his table for the persons who should 
come to his feast. 

But so many persons came that they drank 
up all the wine, and when they wanted more 
there was no more for them. 

Then Jesus told the servants who waited 
on the table to bring in some water, and to 
pour the water into some large pitchers or 
jars that were in the room. There were six 
large jars standing on the floor of the room 
where they had the feast. 

So the servants brought in water and filled 



78 FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 

the jars full up to the top. Then Jesus told 
them to take out some of the water and give 
it to the man who sat at the head of the 
table. 

And the servants took some of the water 
in a cup and handed it to the man, and the 
man tasted it, and he found that it was not 
water now ; it was wine. Jesus had made 
the water in the jars change into wine. 

He did not touch it or put anything into 
it ; he only told the water to be wine, and the 
water minded him and changed into wine. 
For everything must mind Jesus, because he 
is the Son of God. 

When Jesus changed the water into wine, 
that was a miracle. You cannot do a miracle 
and I cannot do a miracle, but Jesus can do 
miracles, because he is God's Son, and he can 
do the same things that God can do. 



Can you remember the name of the city that Jesus 
came into ? 

Had a man just been married in Cana ? 

What did this man make for his friends? 

What did he put on the table for them to drink ? 



80 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

Did the people drink up all the wine and want 
more ? 

How many large pitchers or jars were standing on 
the floor of the room where they had the feast ? 

What did Jesus tell the servants to fill the jars 
with? 

After they had filled the jars who did they give 
some of the water to ? 

When the man at the head of the table had tasted 
it what did he find ? 

Who had changed the water into wine ? 

When Jesus did this, what was it? 

Can you or I do miracles? 

Why could Jesus do miracles ? 



19. I told you about John the Baptist, who 
wore the coat made of camel's hair and who 
ate locusts and wild honey. He was the one 
who told the people about Jesus, that Jesus 
was God's Son. 

There w^as a king in the country where 
John lived. This king's name was Herod, 
and Herod was a wicked man. He took 
John the Baptist and put him in prison, and 
shut him up there, so that he could not get out. 




KASTERN DANCING-GIRL. 



82 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



While John was in prison Herod's birth- 
day came. Then Herod made a great feast 
and asked many of his friends to come to it. 
So they came into the king's house and sat 
down at the table to eat of the feast. 

While they were there a young woman 
came into the room. Her name was Salome, 
and she knew how to dance very well. And 
Salome danced for King Herod and his friends 
who were eating the feast, and the king was 
so much pleased with her beautiful dancing 
that he promised to do for her whatever she 
asked him to do. 

Then Sajome went home to her house where 
she lived, and she said to her mother, What 
shall I ask the king to do for me ? And her 
wicked mother told her to ask the king to 
kill good John the Baptist. 

Then Salome went back to the king's house, 
into the room where the king and his friends 
were eating the feast, and she told the king 
that she wanted him to kill John. The king 
knew it would be wrong to do this, for he 
knew that John was a good man and that 
he did not deserve to be killed. 



84 



FIRST STEPS FOB, LITTLE FEET. 



Yet to please Salome and her wicked mother 
he sent a man who killed John in the prison. 
And after he was killed some good men who 
loved John came and took up his dead body 
and carried it to the grave and buried it. 

What was the name of the king in that country 
where John the Baptist lived ? 

Where did Herod shut up John the Baptist ? 

While John was in prison whose birthday came ? 

What did Herod have on his birthday ? 

What was the name of the woman who danced in 
the room where they were eating the feast ? 

Did King Herod promise to do for Salome what- 
ever she asked him to do ? 

What did her mother tell her to ask the king to 
do for her? 

Did Herod know it would be wrong to kill John ? 

Did he do it, then ? 

What did some good men who loved John do with 
his dead body ? 




86 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



20, Jesus went again to the city called 
Cana where he had changed the water into 
wine. There was a rich man in that city, and 
this rich man had a son who was very sick. 
No doctor could cure him and no medicine 
could make him well, and his father was 
afraid he would die. 

So he came to Jesus and begged him to 
make his son well. He said, Come quickly, 
before my son dies. His father said this 
because he thought that Jesus could not cure 
his son until he went to his home and saw 
him, and did something to him to make him 
well. 

But Jesus told the rich man to go back to 
his home, for his son should get well. And 
the man believed what Jesus said, and he 
went back to his home, and when he came 
near to the house some one came out and 
told him that his son had got well. 

Jesus had cured him by only saying he 
should be well. For as soon as Jesus said 
this the sickness went away from him and 
he was well. This was a miracle, like chang- 
ing the water into wine. 







THE RICH MAX BEGS JESUS TO MAKE HIS SON WELL. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



What did the rich man ask Jesus to do to his 
son? 

Could any doctor cure him or any medicine make 
him well ? 

Did the rich man think that Jesus must come to 
his house to cure his son ? 

But what did Jesus say to him ? 

When the man came near to his house, what did 
some one come out and tell him? 

Who had made his son well ? 

Had Jesus made his son well by only saying he 
should be well ? 

When Jesus did this what was it? 



21. Jesus came to the city of Nazareth, 
where he used to live with Mary his mother 
when he was a little child. There was a 
church in Nazareth. On the Sabbath-day 
Jesus went into the church, and a good many 
people were there. And Jesus told them that 
God had sent him to teach them. But the 
people were wicked ; they would not believe 
that God had sent Jesus. 

They were angry when he said this, and 
they took hold of him and led him out of 



90 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



the church to the top of a steep hill that 
was near, for they wanted to throw him down 
there and kill him. But they could not hurt 
Jesus, because he was God's Son, and he could 
keep them from hurting him. 

Yet he did not teach the people any more, 
because they would not listen to him or mind 
him. And he left them and went away from 
their city. 

"When Jesus told the people in the church that 
God had sent him to teach them, were they angry ? 
What did they want to do to him ? 
"Were they able to hurt him ? 
Why could they not hurt Jesus ? 
Why did he not teach them any more ? 
Did he go away from their city and leave them ? 



22. Jesus came to another city, named 
Capernaum. This city was near to the water, 
and Jesus walked on the shore down close to 
the water, and many people followed after him 
and crowded around him. 

And Jesus saw two boats on the shore ; they 



92 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



belonged to men who used to sail out in them 
to catch fish. These men were not catching 
fish now ; they were mending their nets. Nets 
are made of twine ; they are what men catch 
fish with. These men had nets, but their 
nets were torn, and now they were mending 
them. 

When the peoj^le crowded around Jesus to 
hear him, he went into one of the boats and 
told the man who owned it to push it out a 
little way from the shore. The man did as 
Jesus told him, and Jesus sat down in the 
boat and talked to the people, and they stood 
on the shore and listened to what he said. 

When he had done talking to them Jesus 
told the man to sail out on the sea and 
catch some fish with his net. But the man 
said that he and his brother had been out in 
the boat all night trying to catch some fish, 
and they had not caught any. Yet he said if 
Jesus told them to do it they would try again. 
This man's name was Peter. 

So Peter and his brother took their oars 
and rowed their boat out on the sea, and they 
let down their net into the water ; and when 



94 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

they tried to pull it up again, it was so full of 
fishes they could not pull it up. 

Then Peter called some other men who were 
on the shore to come out and help them. These 
men had a boat too, so they came out in their 
boat and helped Peter and his brother pull 
up the net. And when they had pulled it 
up, they took out the fishes and put them 
into the boats, and the boats were so full 
they were ready to sink. 

It was Jesus who made the fish come to the 
place where the men could catch them. These 
men had tried to catch them before, but the 
fish were not there. But when Jesus told the 
men to try, so many fish came that both boats 
were filled with them. 

This was a miracle, like changing the water 
into wine and like making the rich man's son 
well. Jesus did this miracle on purpose for 
these men to see him do it, so they might 
know that he was God's Son. 

And Jesus told the men to come with him. 
Then they left their boats and their nets and 
all that they had, and went with Jesus, and 
after that they stayed with him all the time. 



96 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Was the city of Capernaum near to the water ? 

Where did Jesus walk? 

Who followed after him and crowded around 
him? 

What did Jesus see on the shore ? — two what ? 

When the people crowded around him, what did 
Jesus get into ? 

Where did the people stand and listen to him 
while he was talking to them out of the boat ? 

When Jesus was done teaching the people, what 
did he tell the man in the boat to do ? 

What was this man's name ? 

Had Peter and his brother been trying to catch 
some fish all night without catching any ? 

But now, when they let down their net into the 
water, why could they not pull it up again? 

Who did they call to help them pull up the net ? 

Who had made the fish come to the place where 
the men could catch them ? 

When Jesus did this, what was it ? 

Did Jesus do this miracle on purpose for these men 
to see it ? 

When he asked them to come with him, what did 
they do? 

Did ttiey stay with him all the time after that ? 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 97 



23. Jesus went to the house where Peter 
lived. A very sick woman was in this house; 
she had a great fever and was lying on the 
bed, and they begged Jesus to make her 
well. 

Then Jesus came and stood by the bed 
where she lay, and told the fever to go away 
from her ; and he took hold of her hand and 
raised her up, and she was well. And she 
got up from the bed and waited on the people 
who were in the house. 

In the evening, when the sun was going 
down and it began to get dark, many people 
in the city brought their sick friends to Jesus, 
and he cured them all. And Jesus stayed all 
night at Peter's house. 



Whose house did Jesus go into ? 

Who was in this house ? 

What did they ask Jesus to do ? 

When Jesus told the fever to go away, did it mind 
him? 

In the evening, when it began to get dark, whom 
did the people bring to Jesus? 

What did Jesus do for the persons who were sick ? 

Where did Jesus stav all night? 



FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 99 



24. Very early the next morning, before 
the snn was np in the sky, Jesus rose up from 
his bed, and he went out into the lonely wilder- 
ness, and there he kneeled down on the ground 
and prayed to God. 

But after he had gone the people in the 
city came to Peter's house to find him, and 
when they heard he had gone out into the 
wilderness they went out after him. And 
they came to him there, and begged him to 
stay in their city and not to go away and 
leave them. 

But Jesus said he must go and teach the 
people who lived in other cities too. So he 
went into other cities, and taught the people, 
and told them to repent. To repent is to be 
sorry. Jesus meant that the people should be 
sorry for their sins. 

Their sins were the bad things they had 
done. Jesus told them they must be sorry 
for doing those things, and must not do them 
any more. 

Where did Jesus go very early in the morning, be- 
fore the sun was up in the sky ? 




JESUS PRAYS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



101 



What did Jesus do when he came out in the wil- 
derness ? 

Who went out into the wilderness to find him ? 

When they found him, what did they beg him to 
do? 

But where did Jesus say he must go ? 

Did he go into other cities and teach people who 
lived there ? 

What did he tell them to do ? 

What does " repent " mean ? 

What were the people to be sorry for ? 

What are our sins ? 

Does Jesus tell us we must be sorry for our sins 
and not do them any more ? 




102 FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



25. The people in that land used to have 
a very bad sickness called the leprosy. The 
leprosy made sores come on a person's skin, 
and made his skin look Avhite like snow. 

When a man got the leprosy, he had to go 
away from his home to some other place where 
he could live by himself ; for if he stayed at home 
with his little children, perhaps they would 
get the lejDrosy too. And after the man had 
gone away from his home, he could not come 
back there again until he was well ; but no- 
body could make him well except God. 

And now a poor man who had the leprosy 
came to Jesus, and he kneeled down on the 
ground before him and asked Jesus to make " 
him well. And Jesus was sorry for the poor 
man, and said, I will do it. Be well. As soon 
as Jesus had sj^oken these words the leprosy 
went away from the man, and he was well. 

Then the man was so glad that he went out 
and told all the people how Jesus had cured 
him. And after that so many people came 
to Jesus, and crowded around him, that he 
could not stay in that place. 








JESUS CURES THE MAX AVITH THE LEPROSY. 



104 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



^Vhat very bad sickness did the people use to have 
in that land ? 

When a man got the leprosy, did he have to go 
away and live by himself until he was well ? 

Could anybody make him well but God ? 

What did a man who had the leprosy come and 
ask Jesus to do for him ? 

Did Jesus make the man well ? 

Then the man was so glad that he went out and 
did what? 

Why could not Jesus stay in that place ? 




*•!$& 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 105 



26. After this, Jesus went again to the 
city called Capernaum. The houses in that 
city were not high houses — two or three 
stories high, like the houses we live in ; they 
were low houses — only one story high. And 
the roofs on these houses were flat, so that 
people could go up and walk about there. 

Jesus went into one of these houses, and 
some persons brought a man who had a sick- 
ness called the palsy. The man was very sick 
and weak, so that he could not walk, or even 
stand up, but he had to lie on his bed. And 
when his friends heard that Jesus was in the 
city, they thought they would bring him and 
ask Jesus to make him well. 

But how could they bring the man, when 
he was not able to walk? I will tell you: 
they took up the bed,- or mattress, that he was 
lying on, and they carried the sick man, on 
his bed, to the house where Jesus was. But 
when they came there, they could not get in, 
because the house was full of people. S° 
many persons had come to hear Jesus, there 
was no room for any more. 

Then these men got up on the roof of the 



106 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



house, and they took the sick man up with 
them, lying on his bed ; and they broke a place 
open through the roof, and lowered the man 
down on his bed into the room below, where 
Jesus was. 

When Jesus saw how much trouble they 
had taken to bring the sick man to him, he 




EASTERN BEDS. 



was pleased ; and he said to the man, Stand 
up on your feet, and take up your bed and 
carry it to your home. And just by speak- 
ing those words Jesus made the man well. 

Before Jesus spoke to him he could not 
stand up at all ; but now he could not only 
stand up, but he could pick up his bed and 
carry it. When the people saw the man do 




JESUS CURES THE MAN "WITH THE PALSY. 



108 FIRST STEPS FOE, EITTLE FEET. 



this, they were surprised, and said they had 
never seen such a wonderful thing done be- 
fore. 

Were the houses in the city of Capernaum high 
houses, like the houses we live in? 

What kind of roofs had these houses on them ? 

After Jesus had gone into one of these houses, 
whom did some men bring to him? 

Why could they not bring the sick man into the 
house ? 

Where did they take him to, lying on his bed ? 

When they had broken a place open through 
the roof, what did they do with the man? 

Was Jesus pleased when he saw how much trouble 
they had taken to bring the sick man to him ? 

What did Jesus tell the man to do ? 

Was the man able to stand up and carry his bed ? 

Had Jesus made him well by only speaking those 
few words ? 




FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 109 



27. The cities in that land had high walls 
built up around them. These walls were to 
keep out robbers and any other persons who 
came to do the people harm. 

The city of Jerusalem had high walls 
around it, and there were gates in the walls 
for the people to go through. One of the 
gates was called the Sheep-gate. It was called 
the Sheep-gate because the people took sheep 
through it into the city. Near the Sheep- 
gate was a little j>ond, or pool, of water, called 
the Pool of Bethesda. 

Sometimes the water in this pool moved as if 
somebody went into it. The people could not 
see anybody going into it, but they thought 
it was an angel who went into the pool and 
moved the water. And then, if any sick 
person went into the water as soon as it 
moved, they thought he would get well. 

So a great many people stayed by this 
pool. Some of them were blind, and could 
not see ; some of them were lame, and 
could not walk ; and some were weak, and 
lying on their beds. They were all wait- 
ing for the water to move, so that they 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. Ill 



might go down into it quickly and be made 
well. 

On the Sabbath-day Jesus came to this 
place, and he saw all the poor sick people 
who were waiting there. One of them was a 
man who had been sick a great many years. 
Jesus knew how long it had been, for he 
knows everything about us. 

This poor man was lying on his bed, and 
was not able to get up. And Jesus spoke to 
him and said, Would you like to be made 
well ? The man said that he would like to 
be made well, but when the water moved he 
had no one to help him down into it, and 
before he could get there some one else 
stepped into the pool, and he was too late. 

Then Jesus spoke to him and said, Stand 
up on. your feet and take up your bed and 
walk. And at once the man was able to do 
what Jesus told him. He stood up on his 
feet and took up his bed and carried it, for 
now he was well. 

But some of the people found fault with 
Jesus because he had made the man well on 
the Sabbath-day. But Jesus told them that 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 113 



God had sent him to make sick people well, 
and that he could not only make sick people 
well, but dead people alive. And there was a 
day coming, he said, when he would make all 
the people who were dead alive again. 

The day when Jesus will do this is called 
the Judgment-Day. 



What was built around the cities in that land ? 

What was there in these walls for the people to go 
through ? 

What was one of the gates of Jerusalem called ? 

Why was it called the Sheep-gate ? 

What was there near to the Sheep-gate in the city 
of Jerusalem? 

Did the water in this pool move sometimes as if 
some person went into it ? 

Who did the people think it was that made the 
water move? 

If any sick person went into the water as soon as 
it moved, what happened to him ? 

Were a great many people always waiting by the 
pool n# the water to move ? 

What did Jesus ask a poor sick man if he would 
like? 

Did the man say he would like to be made well ? 

Then what did Jesus tell him to do ? 



114 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Was the man able to stand up on his feet and take 
up his bed and walk ? 

Why did some of the people find fault with 
Jesus for making him well? 

Who did Jesus say had sent him to make sick 
persons well? 

What else did Jesus say he could do beside mak- 
ing sick persons well? 

When will Jesus make all the people who are dead 
come to life again ? 




28. Jesus told the people who were listen- 
ing to him that they should read in the Bible, 
because the Bible is the book that tells* about 
him. 

Suppose you had done wrong, and your 
father was angry w r ith you and was going to 
punish you, but your brother w r as sorry for 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 115 



you, and he came and asked to be punished 
in your place. Would not that show how 
much your brother loved you? 

This is the way that Jesus did for us. 
We have done wrong, and God was going to 
punish us ; but Jesus loved us so much that 
he came down from heaven to be punished in 
our place. The Bible is the book that tells 
us about this. 

What book did Jesus tell the people to read ? 

If you were going to be punished for doing wrong, 
and your brother should come and ask to be pun- 
ished in your place, what would that show ? 

And when God was going to punish us, what did 
Jesus come down from heaven to do ? 

Did he do this because he loved us ? 

What is the book that tells us about this ? 




116 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



29. Jesus went into a church on the Sab- 
bath-day, and a great many people were there. 
One of the men in the church had something 
the matter with his hand. He could not shut 
or open his hand as you can, because it was 
stiff and withered up, as if it were dead. 

And this poor man was not able to work 
with his hand and earn money to buy bread 
for his little children. When Jesus saw him, 
he pitied him and told him to stand up where 
all the rest of the people could see him. 
Jesus told the man to stand up, because he 
was going to make his hand well. 

But some men in the church said that 
Jesus ought not to make the man well then, 
because that day was the Sabbath-day. For 
they said that God had told them not to work 
on the Sabbath-day. 

Then Jesus spoke to these men and said, 
Suppose you had a sheep out in the field, and 
it fell into a deep hole, or pit, on the Sabbath- 
day. Would you not go and lift it out of the 
pit ? And if we ought to be kind to a sheep 
on the Sabbath-day, ought we not to be kind 
to this poor man ? 



118 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



So Jesus taught the men who found fault 
with him that it is right to be kind to per- 
sons, who are poor and sick, on the Sabbath- 
day. Then Jesus said to the man, Stretch 
out your hand. And at once the man's hand 
was made well, and he could stretch it out like 
the other. 

Before that time he could not move it at 
all, but Jesus had made it strong and well 
by speaking those few words. And now ' 
the man could go and work and earn bread 
for his little children to eat. 



What place did Jesus go into on the Sabbath- 
day? 

What was the matter with a man who was there ? 

Was this poor man able to work and earn bread 
for his little children? 

Why did some persons say that Jesus ought not to 
cure the man then ? 

What did Jesus ask them if they would do to a 
sheep on the Sabbath-day? 

How should we treat persons, who are poor and 
sick, on the Sabbath-day? 

What did Jesus say to the man with the withered 
hand ? 







THEY PULL UP THE SHEEP OUT OF THE PIT- 



120 FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Was the man's hand made well by these few 
words ? 

What was he able to do for his little children 
after that? 



30. After this, Jesus went out into the 
lonely wilderness, and he stayed there all 
night praying to God. And in the morn- 
ing he called twelve of the men who followed 
after him, and he chose those men to stay with 
him all the time. They were to do whatever 
he told them to do, and they were to go wher- 
ever he told them to go. 

These twelve men Jesus named " apostles." 
I want you to remember this : The tw T elve 
men who stayed with Jesus all the time were 
named " apostles." 

And Jesus went up on a mountain, and a 
great many people came there to hear him. 
And Jesus taught the people what they must 
do to please God. He said they must not be 
proud and think themselves very good. In- 
stead of this, they must remember how often 
they had done wrong, and they must be sorry 
for doing it. 



122 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



And he told the people they must be kind 
to one another, and they must be kind to 
dumb beasts too. Sometimes little children 
are cruel to dumb beasts, but God is not 
pleased with them when they are so. 

And they must not quarrel with one an- 
other, Jesus said, or be angry with one an- 
other. And when any person was unkind to 
them, they must not be unkind to that person 
again : they must be kind to him, and pray 
for him. 

And Jesus told the people they must try 
all the time to mind what God said. 

How long did Jesus stay out in the wilderness 
praying to God? 

In the morning how many men did he call to come 
to him ? 

What name did he give these twelve men ? 

AVere the apostles always to stay with Jesus after 
that, and to do everything he told them to do ? 

What did Jesus teach the people on the moun- 
tain to do ? — to please whom ? 

Ought they to be proud, did Jesus say, and to think 
themselves very good ? 

Instead of this, what ought they to remember and 
be sorrv for? 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 123 



How were the people to behave to each other? 

And how were they to treat dumb beasts ? 

Are little children cruel to dumb beasts some- 
times ? 

Is God pleased with them when they are so ? 

What did Jesus tell the people about quarrelling 
with each other ? 

If any person is unkind to us, must we be unkind 
to that person again ? 

Who did Jesus say we must be trying to mind all 
the time ? 




124 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



31 . Jesus came to the city of Capernaum. 
A man lived there who was a soldier, and he 
had a servant whom he loved a great deal ; 
but now the servant was very sick, and it 
seemed as if he would die. 

And the soldier came to Jesus and asked him 
if he would not make 
his servant well. Jesus 
need not go to see his 
servant, the soldier said ; 
he need not give him 
any medicine, or do any- 
thing to him to make 
him well. If Jesus 
would only say he 
should get well, the 
soldier was sure his 
servant would get well. 
Then Jesus was pleased with the soldier 
for thinking he could make his servant well 
by only telling him to be well, and Jesus told 
the soldier to go back to his home, for his ser- 
vant should get well. 

Then the soldier went back to his home ; 
and when he came there, he found that the 




ROMAN SOLDIER. 



FIEST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 125 



sickness had gone away from his servant, and 
his servant was well. 



When Jesus went into the city of Capernaum, who 
came to him there ? 

What did the soldier ask Jesus to do ? 

Did the soldier think that Jesus would have to 
come and see his servant before he could make him 
well? 

If Jesus would only say his servant should get 
well, the soldier was sure of what ? 

Was Jesus pleased with the soldier for thinking 
he could cure his servant by only saying he should 
be well? 

When the soldier went to his home, what did he 
find? 




W"V\ 



126 FIKST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



32. Jesus went to a city called Nain. This 
city had a high wall built around it, and there 
was a gate in the wall for the people to go 
through whenever they went in and out of 
the city. 

As Jesus came near to the city he met 
some men coming out of the gate. They 
were carrying a dead man on a bier. A bier 
is what dead persons are carried on to the 
grave. And these men were carrying out a 
dead man to the grave to bury him. 

This dead man was the only son his mother 
had, and she was a widow ; for her husband 
had died before. And now she was walking 
by the bier to her son's grave. And she was 
crying because she would never see him 
again. 

When Jesus saw her crying, he pitied her 
and he told her not to cry. Then he came 
to the bier that her son lay on, and he touched 
it ; and the men who carried it stood still. 

And Jesus spoke to the dead man and said, 
Young man, I say to you, Arise. And as soon 
as Jesus had spoken these words the dead 
man came to life again, and he sat up and 



128 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



began to speak ; and Jesus gave him to his 
mother. 

But when the people who were there saw 
the dead man come to life, they were afraid, 
and they said that God had sent Jesus to them. 
For if God had not sent him, he could not do 
so wonderful a thing as to make a dead person 
come to life a«;ain. 



When Jesus came near to the city, who was being 
carried out of the gate ? 

What was the dead man being carried on ? 

Was the dead man the only son that his mother 
had? 

What was his mother doing now because she would 
never see her son again ? 

When Jesus saw her crying, what did he tell 
her ? 

When the men who carried the bier stood still, 
what did Jesus say to the dead man ? 

What happened then ? 

How did the people feel when they eaw the dead 
man come to life again ? 

Who did they say had sent Jesus to them ? 

Why did they say it was God who had sent him ? 



FIEST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 129 



33. I want to tell you about something 
the people used to do in that country where 
Jesus lived. They used to take some very 
nice ointment, or oil, and put it on their hair 
and on their skin. This ointment smelled 
very sweet, and it made their skin feel soft 
and smooth. 

And a man asked Jesus to come to his 
house ; and Jesus went to the man's house, 
and they sat down to dinner. While they 
were at dinner a woman came into the room. 
She had a little box in her hanjl, and this box 
was full of ointment. 

And she broke the box and poured the 
ointment on Jesus' feet, and she kneeled down 
and kissed his feet ; then she wiped them 
with her long hair. She did this to show 
how much she loved Jesus. She loved him 
because he had come down from heaven to 
be her Saviour. 

I told you before what this means. I told 
you two little stories to help you understand 
it. I said, Suppose you were aslee23 in your 
bed and the house should get on fire, and just 
as the fire was coming near you to burn you 




THE WOMAN PUTS OINTMENT ON JESUS' FEET. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 131 



a strong man should come into the house and 
carry you out to a safe |}lace. That man would 
save you from the fire. 

Or suppose you were out in the woods alone 
and a fierce bear should come after you, but just 
as it was going to catch you a man should 
kill it with his gun. The man would save 
you from the bear. And Jesus came down 
from heaven to save this woman ; he came to 
save her from her sins. 

For she had often sinned and made God 
angry with her, but now she was sorry for it ; 
and Jesus said he would forgive her -sins, so 
that Gocl would not be angry with her, or 
punish her for them. When Jesus did this, 
he was her Saviour ; and she loved him for 
coming down from heaven to be her Saviour. 



What did they use to put on their hah and on 
their skin in that country ? 

Did this ointment smell very sweet ? 

While Jesus was at dinner who came into the room 
where he was ? 

What did this woman have in her hand ? 

Where did she pour the ointment that the box was 
filled with? 



132 



FiRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



What did she do to his feet then ? 

Why did she kiss his feet ? 

Had this woman 'often sinned and made God an- 
gry with her ? 

Was she sorry for it now ? 

What did Jesus say he would do for her, so that 
God would not be angry with her, or punish her ? 

What was Jesus when he forgave the woman's 
sins? — her what? 

Did she love him because he was her Saviour ? 




FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



133 



34. Some persons brought to Jesus a man 
who was blind, and could not see; and he 




JESUS MAKES THE BLIND- AND-DUMB MAN WELL. 



was dumb, and could not speak. Other per- 
sons could see the sun shining and the flow- 
ers growing. Other persons could see their 
friends' faces, and could talk with their friends. 
But this poor man could not see his friends 



134 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

or talk with them ; he could hear them speak 
to him, but he could not answer them. And 
Jesus was sorry, for him, and made him well. 

How glad he must have been when he 
opened his eyes and found that he could see, 
and when he tried to speak and found that he 
could talk with the friends that he loved. 

What was the matter with the man who was 
brought to JesuG? 

Could this man see his friends, or answer them 
when they spoke to him? 

How did Jesus feel when he saw this poor man ? 

What did Jesus do for him ? 

Do you not think the man loved Jesus* for being 
so kind to him ? 



FIRST STEPS FOR, LITTLE FEET. 



135 



35. Jesus told the people a story about a 
man who had a great many good things to eat 
and to drink. And this man built some large 




THE EICH MAN IX HIS BAKN. 



houses called barns, and there he put all these 

good things away to save them up for himself. 

Then, after he had put them away, he said 



136 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



to himself, Now I have everything I want. 
I need not work any more, but I will do just 




THE RICH MAN DIES. 



as I please ; and I will have a nice time as 
long as I live. 

But as soon as he had said this God spoke 
to the man, and told him that on that very 
night he must die. Then all those things 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 137 



that he had saved up for himself would do 
him no good, but somebody else would get 
them. 

And Jesus said we must not be like that 
man. For all he cared about was to get rich 
and to do what would please himself. But 
we must care to do what will please God. 



What did the man in this story have ? 

What were the houses called that this man built ? 

What did the man put away in his barns ? 

After he had put all his good things away there, 
what did he say to himself? 

But after he had said this, what did God say to the 
man? 

Would all the things he had saved up do him any 
good then ? 

Did Jesus say we must not be like this man ? 

Who was it that this man wanted to please most ? 

Who is that we must want to please most ? 




138 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



<£Mr&. 



36- Jesus spoke to those persons who 
loved him and minded him, and he told them 
that God would always give 
them enough food to eat and 
clothes to wear. 

God gave the little birds 
food to eat, Jesus said, and 
God cares more for the per- 
sons who love him than he 
does for the little birds. So, 
if we love and mind Jesus, 
we need not be afraid. God will never for- 
get us, and he will always take care of us. 




What will God always give to the persons who 
love and mind Jesus ? 

What does God give to the little birds ? 

And does not God care more for the persons who 
love Jesus than he does for the little birds ? 

If we love and mind Jesus, need we be afraid 
that God will ever forget us? 




FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



139 



37. Jesus told the people a story about a 
man who went out into the field to plant some 
wheat. Wheat, you know, is what bread is 




SOME SEEDS THE BIRDS EAT. SOME FALL" ON STONY GROUND. 



made of. It comes in little grains. If we 
take these little grains of wheat and plant 
them in the ground, they will grow up and 
bear some more wheat. 



140 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



And now Jesus told the people a story 
about a man who went out into the field to 
plant some wheat. The way he did it was 
to take some of the grains in his hand 
and scatter them over the ground as he 
walked along. 

But some of the grains fell in the wrong 
place ; and the birds saw them, and they flew 
down from the trees and the fences and ate 
them up. So these grains of wheat were 
wasted ; for, of course, they could not grow 
after the birds had eaten them. 

And some more of the grains fell in a place 
where there were a great many stones on the 
ground, and some fell where weeds and briars 
were growing. And these grains of wheat 
could not grow, either, because the stones and 
the weeds would not give them room. 

But the rest of the grains that the man 
scattered over the ground fell in the right place 
where the ground was soft and ready for them 
to come. And the rain came on the grains 
there, and the sun shone on them, and they 
made little roots in the ground and grew up ; 
and after a while the man had a great deal 



FIEST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



141 



more wheat growing up in his field than he 
took out with him and planted. 

And this is the way it is when I am teach- 




SOME FALL AMONG BRIARS. SOME FALL ON GOOD GROUND. 

ing little children what Jesus wants them to 
do. Some of them do not listen to what I 
say, and then it is just as if some little birds 
came and took away the words I spoke, and 
the children do not remember them. 



142 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



But some of the children remember the 
words that I speak, and they try to mind what 
Jesus says. They are like the wheat that fell 
on the good ground and grew up, and bore 
more wheat for the man who planted it. 



What do we make out of wheat ? 

Wheat comes in little — what ? 

What was the man in this story planting out in his 
field? 

How did he plant the grains of wheat? 

Could those little grains grow that fell in the wrong 
place? 

What flew down from the trees and ate them up ? 

Did the grains that fell in the right place grow up 
and bear more wheat ? 

When I am teaching little children what Jesus 
wants them to do, and they will not listen, it is just 
as if — what, came and took away my words ? 

But when the little children listen to the words I 
speak, and try to mind them, then it is like the wheat 
that fell where ? 



FIEST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



143 



38. Jesus told the people about the mus- 
tard-seed. There are a great many different 




THE MUSTARD-SEED FIRST PLANTED. 



kinds of seed that we plant in the ground. 
Some of them are large, and some are small. 
The mustard-seed is very small — not much 
larger than a pin's head. 



144 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



It is so small that if you should be hold- 
ing one of them in your hand, and should let 
it fall, you would hardly be able to see it or 




THE MUSTARD-SEED GROWN UP TO BE A TREE. 



find it again. Yet if this little seed is planted 
in the ground, it grows up to be a tree large 



FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 145 



enough for the birds to fly into it and stand 
on its branches. 

And when little children first begin to love 
Jesus, their love is like the little mustard- 
seed before it is planted in the ground, it is 
so small. But if they keep on minding him 
and trying to do what he tells them, then 
their love will get larger and larger, like the 
mustard-seed when it grows up to be a tree. 



What kind of a seed did Jesus tell the people 
about ? 

Is the niustard-seed large or small ? 

But when it is planted in the ground, what does it 
grow up to be ? 

When little children first begin to love Jesus, is 
their love very small, like the little mustard-seed ? 

But if they keep on trying to mind him, their 
love grows larger and larger like — what? 
10 




-^^SiP 1 :: 



146 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



39. And Jesus spoke about a woman when 
she makes bread. She takes the nice white 




THK WOMAN MAKING EREAD. 



flour, and puts some water in it, and works it 
with her hands, and makes it into dough. 

But she does something else beside this. 
She takes a cup, and puts something called 
yeast in the cup ; and she pours a little of 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 147 



the yeast into the dough, and then she covers 
it up and leaves it there. And this yeast 
makes the dough better than it was before ; so 
that when it is put in the oven and baked, it 
makes nicer bread. 

And when little children love God, that 
makes them better children than they were 
before ; for then they are more careful to do 
right, because they want to please him. 



What was the woman doing that Jesus told the 
people about ? 

After she has poured some water into the flour 
and made dough out of it, what else does she pour 
into the dough? 

Does the yeast make the dough better than it was 
before, so that it makes nicer bread ? 

And when little children love God, does that make 
them better children than they were before ? 

What are they careful to do when they love God ? 

Why are they so careful to do right ? 



148 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



40. Jesus told the people a story about a 
man who wanted to buy some pearls. Pearls 
are beautiful little white stones. Sometimes 




THE MAN SEES THE BEAUTIFUL PEARL. 



we see pearls in rings and in bracelets and in 
breastpins. And where do you think pearls 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 149 



come from? They come from under the 
water. Yes, from away clown under the 
deep sea. 

Men swim down under the sea, and they 
find oysters on the bottom of the sea; and 
they bring these oysters up on the land, and 
open them and find pearls in them. Then 
they take out the pearls, and sell them and 
get money for them. 

Once there was a man who wanted to buy 
some pearls. He did not want to swim down 
under the water to find them for himself, but 
he wanted to buy them from the men who 
had found them already. So he went to these 
men and asked them to show him all the pearls 
they had to sell. 

And at last one of the men showed him a 
very beautiful pearl. It was larger and pret- 
tier than any pearl he had ever seen before, 
but it would cost so much he had not enough 
money to buy it with. So he told the man 
to keep that j)earl until he came back again. 
Then he went away and sold everything he 
had, so as to get money enough to buy that 
pearl. 



150 FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



Perhaps he had horses, and cows, and sheep, 
and land; but he sold them all, and got money 




HE SELLS ALL HE HAS TO GET THE BEAUTIFUL PEARL. 

for them, and came back to the man, and gave 
him the money, .and got the beautiful pearl. 
Then he was very hapjjy, because he had the 
thing that he wanted more than anything else 
in this world. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 151 



And what will make you and me happy ? 
Not a pearl ; that will not make us happy. I 
will tell you what will make us happy — to 
have God pleased with us, and to be his dear 
children. 

And we ought to want this as much as the 
man wanted to get the beautiful pearl. We 
should be willing to do everything God tells 
us to do, and to stop doing everything he 
tells us not to do, so that God may be 
pleased with us, and so that he may take us 
to be his children. 



What is a pearl ? , 

Where do we see pearls sometimes ? 

Can you tell me where pearls come from ? 

What did the man in the story want to buy ? 

When at last he saw a beautiful pearl, why did he 
not buy it ? 

What did he go away and do, so that he might get 
money enough to buy the pearl ? 

When he had sold all the things he had, what did 
he do with the money that he got for them ? 

How did he feel when he got the pearl that he 
wanted so much ? 

Can a pearl make you and me happy ? 



152 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

Will it make us happy to have God pleased with 
us, aud to be his children ? 

Ought we to want this as much as the man wanted 
the beautiful pearl ? 

And what ought we to be willing to do, so that 
God may be pleased with us, and may take us to be 
his children ? 



41 . I have told you what a net is. It is 
made of twine, and men catch fish with it. 
Let me tell you how they do this. They put 
the net in a boat, and take their oars and row 
the boat out on the water. Then they let the 
net down under the water, and the fish that 
are swimming there are caught in the net. 

Then the men pull up the net and take the 
fish out of it. But the fish are not all of one 
kind. Some of them are good : these they 
put in a basket to keep ; and some of them 
are bad : these they throw away. 

And Jesus says that all the men and all 
the women and all the little children in the 
world are like those fish in the net. Some 
are good, and some are bad ; and when the 
Judgment -Day comes, God will send his 



154 



FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



angels to take the good men and the good 
women and the good children up to heaven. 
But the bad men and women and children 
will be sent away to the place where they 
are to be punished. 



What are nets made of? 

What are they used for ? 

Are all the fish of one kind ? 

Are some fish good, and some bad ? 

Who did Jesus say were like the fish in the net? 

What will be done to good men and women and 
children at the Judgment-Day? 

What will be done to bad men and women and 
children on that day? 





THE GOOD FISH, THEY KEEP ; THE BAD, THEY THROW AWAY. 



156 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



42. A man came to Jesus and told him 
that he wanted to stay with him and live 
with him all the time. But Jesus told the 
man that he had no home to live in. 




JESUS HAS NO HOME TO LIVE IN. 



Jesus said that the little birds had homes, 
for they had their nests up in the trees. 
And the wild beasts had homes, for they 
had caves and holes in the ground where they 
could go and stay. But Jesus had no home 
where he could go when he was tired and lie 
down to rest. 



FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 157 



It was because he was so poor that Jesus 
had no home. He was poorer even than the 
birds and the beasts. But Jesus was not al- 
ways poor. He used to live up in heaven, 
and he was not poor there. He had every- 
thing to make him happy. 

Why, then, did he come down to this world 
and be poor and have trouble ? It was be- 
cause he loved us and he wanted to make us 
good, so that we might go up to heaven, too, 
after we die. If Jesus loved us so much as 
to come down from heaven for us, we ought 
to love him. 



What did the man who came to Jesus tell him that 
he wanted to do ? 

Did Jesus tell the man that he had no home to 
live in ? 

What did Jesus say about the birds and the beasts ? 

What was the reason that Jesus had no home ? 

Was Jesus always poor ? 

Why did he come down to this world and be poor 
and have trouble ? 

Ought we not to love him for this ? 



158 FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



43. Jesus went into a boat with his 
apostles to sail across the sea. And while 
they were sailing on the water he lay down, 
with his head on a pillow, and went to sleep 
in the boat. 

And there came a great storm of wind that 
made the waves very high and rough. And 
the water dashed into the boat, and the apos- 
tles were afraid it would sink ; and they came 
to Jesus and wakened him and said, Lord, 
save us, or we shall be drowned. 

But Jesus asked the apostles why they were 
afraid of the winds and the sea while he was 
with them to keep them safe. Then Jesus 
stood up in the boat, and he told the wind 
not to blow and the waves to be still. Then 
the wind did not blow any more, arid the 
waves got still and smooth. 

When the apostles saw this, they said to 
one another, Even the wind and the sea 
mind him. And when the boat had come 
to the shore, Jesus and his apostles got out 
of the boat and walked on the land. 




JESUS SLEEPS LN THE STORM. 



160 FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

What did Jesus get into, with his apostles, to sail 
across the sea? 

Where did he lay down his head and go to sleep ? 

What made the waves very high while Jesus was 
asleep on the pillow ? 

How did the apostles feel when the water dashed 
into the boat? 

What did they say to Jesus when they had wa- 
kened him ? 

Ought they to have been afraid while he was with 
them? 

What did Jesus say to the wind and the waves ? 

Did the wind and the waves mind him ? 




FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 161 



44. I told you about the good angels that 
live up in heaven. But there are some bad 
angels, too. The bad angels do not live up in 
heaven, for no one who is bad or wicked can 
live there. We call these bad angels evil 
spirits : that is their name. 

These evil spirits do not have hands and 
feet and bodies like ours, and we cannot see 
them, and they can go into places where we 
cannot go. Sometimes they used to go into 
men and into women, and even into little 
children. 

And when Jesus got out of the boat and 
walked on the land, a man met him who 
had evil spirits in him. And the evil spirits 
made the man very fierce and angry, so that 
he was like a wild beast, and all the people 
were afraid to go that way. 

The man's friends had often tried to keep 
him at home ; they had put chains on his 
hands and on his feet to keep him there, but 
he broke the chains and went out and lived 
in the mountains. 

There were caves in these mountains. Caves, 
you know, are hollow places dug out of the 



162 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

ground. Some caves had been dug out of 
these mountains to bury dead people in, and 
this man used to go and live in the caves. 

At night he did not sleep, but all night 
long he was crying out with a loud voice ; 
and sometimes he would pick up sharp stones 
from the ground and cut himself with them. 
The evil spirits that were in him made him 
do this. 

And the poor man could not make the evil 
spirits go out, but Jesus could make them go 
out. And now Jesus spoke to them and told 
them to come out of the man, and at once the 
evil spirits came out of him. 

Now, there were a great many swine, or pigs, 
near that place ; they were eating the grass 
that grew on the mountains. And when the 
evil spirits came out of the man, they went 
into the swine ; and then the swine ran down 
a steep hill into the sea, and were all drowned 
in the water. 

But the man was not fierce and angry any 
more ; he was quiet and well, like other per- 
sons, because Jesus had made the evil spirits 
go out of him. And he thanked Jesus, and 




JESUS MAKES THE EVIL SPIRITS SO OUT. 



164 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



wanted to go with him and stay with him all 
the time. But Jesus told him to go to his 
home and tell his friends how he had been 
made well. 



Where do the good angels live ? 

Are there bad angels, too ? 

Do they live up in heaven with God ? 

Have the bad angels hands and feet and bodies like 
ours, so that we can see them ? 

What do we call these bad angels ? — what is their 
name? 

Who did the evil spirits use to go into sometimes? 

When Jesus came out of the boat and walked on 
the shore, who met him ? 

Did the evil spirits make this man so fierce that 
the people were afraid to go that way ? 

Could the man's friends keep him at home ? 

Where did he go and live ? 

What did he do all night long ? 

Did Jesus make the evil spirits go out of the man? 

When they came out of him, what did they go 
into? 

And what did the swine do then ? 

Was the man well after that? 

Who did he want to go with, and stay with ? 

But what did Jesus tell him to do ? 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 165 



45. Jesus and his apostles- went again into 
the city called Capernaum, and a great crowd 
of peojDle followed him. Some of these peo- 
ple were pressing and pushing against him. 

In the crowd there was a woman who had 
been sick for a very long time. She had 
asked a great many doctors to make her well, 
and had given them all her money, but they 
could not cure her. And now she was in the 
crowd that was following Jesus. 

As soon as she saw him she said to herself, 
If I can only come behind him and touch his 
clothes, I am sure I shall be well. So she 
came behind Jesus softly, and put out her 
hand and touched him, and at once she felt 
that she was well. 

And Jesus stopped and looked around, and 
asked who had touched him. The apostles 
had not seen the woman do it, and they won- 
dered that Jesus should ask who touched him, 
when so many persons were pressing against 
him. But Jesus said that some one had 
touched him and been made well. 

When the poor woman saw that he knew 
it, and that she could not hide herself from 




THE WOMAN TELLS HOW SHE WAS MADE WELL. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 167 



him, she was afraid ; and she came trembling 
to Jesus, and kneeled down on the ground 
before him, and told him what she had done 
and how in a minute she was cured of her 
sickness. 

Then Jesus spoke kindly to her and call- 
ed her, Daughter, and said she did right 
when she came to him. And he told her 
to go to her home and not be afraid any 
more. 

When Jesus came to Capernaum, who was in the 
crowd that followed him ? 

What had this poor woman given the doctors to 
make her well? 

And had they made her well ? 

What did she say to herself when she saw Jesus ? 

Was she made well as soon as she touched him ? 

Did Jesus know that she had done it ? 

When she found that she could not hide herself 
from him, what did she do? 

What did Jesus call her ? 

And did he tell her not to be afraid any more ? 



168 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



46. There came to Jesus a man who was 
in great trouble because his little daughter 
was sick, and he was afraid she would die. 
And the man begged Jesus to come to his 
house and put his hands on her, to make her 
well. 

Then Jesus went with the man ; but when 
they got near to his house, somebody came 
out and told them that the little girl was 
dead, and that it was not worth while for 
Jesus to come any farther. But Jesus told 
the man not to be troubled, for his daughter 
should be made alive again. 

When they went into the house, the people 
were crying, because they were so sorry that 
the little girl was dead. Then Jesus made 
them all go out, and he took three of his 
apostles and the little girl's father and mother 
and went into the room where she lay. 

And he came to her bed, and took hold of 
her hand, and said to her, Arise. And as 
soon as he had said this the little girl came 
to life, and she got up from her bed and 
walked ; for she was twelve years old. 

And Jesus told the people to give her some- 



FIKST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 169 




JESUS MAKES THE LITTLE GIRL ALIVE AGAIN. 

thing to eat. Then her father and mother 
were glad, because their little daughter was 
alive again, and because they would have her 
to live with them and love them as she used 
to do before. 



170 FIRST STEPS FOE, LITTLE FEET. 



Why was the man who came to Jesus in great 
trouble ? 

What did he ask Jesus to do ? 

When they came near the man's house, what did 
some one come out and tell them ? 

W r hat did Jesus tell the man when he heard 
this? 

When they came into the house, what were the 
people doing there ? 

Where did Jesus make all the people go ? 

W 7 hen he came into the room where the little girl 
lay, what did he say to her ? 

What happened to the little girl then ? 

How did her father and mother feel when they 
saw that she was alive again ? 



47, As Jesus was going away from that 
place two blind men followed him. They 
could not see him, but some one had told 
them that Jesus w^as there. PerhajDS they 
had heard how he brought the little girl to 
life again, and they thought he could make 
their eyes well. 

So the blind men followed Jesus, and called 
after him, and begged him to cure them. 



172 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Jesus stopped, and asked them if they thought 
he was able to do this. They said, Yes, Lord. 
Then he said he would do it ; and he put out 
his hand and touched their eyes, and by only 
touching them he made their eyes well. 

Then the men went away and told all 
the people who lived in that country how 
Jesus had cured them in one moment, and 
made them able to see. 



As Jesus was going from that place, who followed 
him ? 

What did the blind men want him to do ? 

What did Jesus ask the blind men ? 

How did he make their eyes well ? 

What did the blind men do after they were made 
well ? 




FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



173 



48. Some j^ersons brought to Jesus a man 
who was dumb : this means that the man was 
not able to speak. He had been able to 
speak once, like you. and like me, but now 




JESUS MAKES THE DUMB MAN ABLE TO SPEAK. 

an evil spirit had gone into him that would 
not allow him to speak. 

And none of the man's friends could make 



174 FIRST STEPS FOE, LITTLE FEET. 



the evil spirit go out; but Jesus made the 
spirit go out, and then the man was able to 
speak. 

And the people who saw Jesus make the 
evil spirit go out of the man were surprised, 
and they said they had never seen such a 
wonderful thing done before. 



Whom did some persons bring to Jesus ? 

What does it mean to say he was dumb ? 

Had this man been able to speak once, like you 
and like me ? 

What was it that made him dumb? 

Could the man's friends make the evil spirit go 
out? 

But what did Jesus do ? 

Could the man speak after that? 



49. After this, Jesus went into other 
cities to teach the peojde who lived there. 
But he could not teach all the people in that 
land by himself: there were too many of 
them. So he sent out his twelve apostles to 
teach the people who lived in the cities where 
he would not come. 




JESUS SENDS OUT HIS TWELVE APOSTLES. 



176 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

And the twelve apostles went and taught 
the people in those cities. And while they 
were gone, Jesus let the aj:>ostles make sick 
people well and dead people alive, just as 
Jesus used to do himself. Jesus let the 
apostles do this, so as to make the people 
listen to what they said. 

And after the apostles had taught the 
people they came back to Jesus, and told 
him where they had been and what they 
had done. 

Did Jesus go into other cities to teach the people ? 

Why could he not teach all the people in that 
land by himself? 

Who did he send to teach the people in the cities 
where he would not come? 

What did he allow the apostles to do while they 
were teaching the people there ? 

Could they have done this if Jesus had not made 
them able to do it ? 




FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 177 



50. Then Jesus and his apostles got into 
a boat and sailed to another place across the 
sea, because they wanted to be alone. But 
when the people saw him going, they follow- 
ed after him, so that a great crowd of men 
and women and little children came to the 
place where he went. 

But Jesus was very kind to them ; he 
taught them many things about God and 
about heaven, and all those persons who 
were sick he made well. 

When it began to get dark, the apostles 
asked Jesus to send the people away, so that 
they might go and buy food for themselves, 
because they had nothing to eat. But Jesus 
said that the apostles should give them some- 
thing to eat. 

But the apostles said, Where shall we get 
food for so many persons ? Shall we go and 
buy two hundred pennyworth of bread for 
them? And even if we bought so much, it 
would not be enough to give each one a little. 
Jesus asked the apostles how many, loaves of 
bread they had, and they said they had only 
five loaves of bread and two small fishes. 



178 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Then Jesus told the apostles to make the 
people sit down in rows on the green grass. 
And he took the loaves of bread in his hand, 
and the fishes, and he looked up to the sky 
and thanked God for them. Then Jesus 
broke the bread and the fishes in pieces, and 
he gave the pieces to the apostles ; and the 
apostles went out and gave them to the 
people. 

And as soon as they gave a jriece of bread 
to any person, another \nece came into the 
apostles' hands. And when they gave that 
piece, another piece came. And so the j)ieces 
of bread and fish kejot on coming into the 
apostles' hands, until all the men and women 
and little children had as much as they want- 
ed to eat. 

And after they had eaten as much as they 
wanted, Jesus told the apostles to pick up the 
pieces that were left on the ground, so that 
nothing should be wasted or lost. And they 
picked up twelve baskets full of pieces that 
were left. This was a great deal more than 
they had when they first began to feed the 
people. 




JESUS FEEDS THE PEOPLE. 



180 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



It was Jesus who made the bread and fish 
keep on coming into the apostles' hands until 
all the people had enough. This was a mir- 
acle. I have told you that men cannot do 
miracles ; but Jesus could do them, because 
he is the Son of God, and he can do the 
same things that God can do. 



Where did Jesus and his apostles go in a boat ? 

Who followed them to that place ? 

Was Jesus very kind to the people when they came 
to the ]^lace where he was ? 

Why did the apostles want Jesus to send the people 
away ? — so that they might buy what ? 

Who did Jesus say should give them something 
to eat? 

What did the apostles ask Jesus when he told 
them this? 

How many loaves and fishes did the apostles 
have? 

Where did Jesus tell the apostles to make the 
people sit down ? 

Who did Jesus thank for the five loaves of bread 
and the two small fishes ? 

After he had broken them to pieces, who did he 
give the pieces to ? 

While the apostles were giving the pieces of bread 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 181 



and fish to the people, did more keep coming into the 
aj)ostW hands? 

Did all the people get as much as they wanted to 
eat? 

How many baskets full of pieces were left lying 
on the ground ? 

Who was it made the pieces of bread and fish 
keep on coming into the apostles' hands until all the 
people had enough ? 

When Jesus did this, what was it? 

Why could Jesus do miracles ? 




182 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



51. After all the people had eaten as 
much as they wanted, Jesus sent them away 
to their homes. The apostles he sent away in 
a boat to sail over to the other side of the 
sea, but Jesus stayed by himself on the shore. 
And when the apostles had gone, he went up 
alone on a mountain to pray, and there he 
kneeled down on the ground and prayed to 
God. 

In the night Jesus came down from the 
mountain and stood on the shore, and he saw 
the apostles, out in the middle of the sea, 
rowing their boat with oars ; for the wind was 
blowing against them, and the waves were 
rough and stormy. 




JESUS PRAYS ON THK MOUNTAIN. 



184 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Then Jesus went out to them, walking on 
the sea. He walked on the sea just the same 
as if it had been dry land. And when the 
apostles saw him coming they were afraid ; 
and they cried out with fear, for they thought 
it must be a spirit. 

But Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid ; 
it is I. And one of the apostles, whose name 
was Peter, spoke to Jesus out of the boat and 
asked Jesus if he might come to him on the 
water. And Jesus told Peter to come. Then 
Peter got down out of the boat and began to 
walk on the water to Jesus. 

But when he heard the loud winds and saw 
the great waves dashing around him, he was 
afraid and began to. sink, and he said, Lord, 
save me, or I shall be drowned. 

Then Jesus put out his hand and held Pe- 
ter up, so that he did not sink down under the 
water. And Jesus said to Peter, Why were 
you afraid, when I was near you to take care 
of you? 

Then Jesus and Peter came into the boat, 
and as soon as they came there the boat came 
to the shore at the place where the apostles 



186 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



wanted it to be. And when they got out of 
the boat and walked on the land, the people 
heard that Jesus was there ; and they began to 
bring their sick friends for him to cure them. 
And, wherever he went, the people brought 
sick persons lying on beds, and they laid them 
in the streets, so that they might only touch 
his clothes as he passed by ; and every one 
who touched him was made well. 



After the people had eaten as much as they wanted, 
where did Jesus send them ? 

Where did he send the apostles in a boat ? 

After they had gone, what did Jesus go up on the 
mountain to do ? 

When he came down from the mountain, where 
could he see the apostles ? 

How did Jesus go out to them ? 

When the apostles saw him coming, how did they 
feel? 

What did Jesus say to them ? 

What did Peter ask Jesus if he might do ? 

What happened to Peter while he was walking on 
the water to Jesus ? 

How did Jesus save him from sinking? 

What did Jesus say to Peter? 



188 FIRST STEPS FOE, LITTLE FEET. 



Where did the boat come to as soon as Jesus and 
Peter got into it ? 

When Jesus got out of the boat and walked on 
the land, who did the people bring to him lying on 
their beds ? 

Did Jesus make all the sick people well ? 



52 . A woman came to Jesus and told him 
that an evil spirit had gone into her daughter, 
and that the evil spirit troubled her daughter ; 
and the woman begged Jesus to make the 
spirit go out. At first Jesus turned away 
from the woman, as if he would not listen 
to her. 

He did this only to try whether she really 
believed he could cure her child. But when 
she saw him turn away, she did not stop pray- 
ing to him. Instead of doing so, she only 
prayed to him more; and she kneeled down 
at his feet and said, Lord, help me. 

Then Jesus told the woman that because she 
believed he could make her daughter well, and 
because she prayed to him to do it, he would 
m ake her well . And when the woman went back 




JESUS TELLS THE WOMAN HER DAUGHTER SHALL BE WELL. 



190 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

to her house, she found that the evil spirit 
had gone out, and her daughter was well. 



What did the woman who came to Jesus tell him 
was the matter with her daughter ? 

What did Jesus do at first, when the woman spoke 
to him ? 

Did the woman stop praying to him when she saw 
him turn away? 

When Jesus saw how she kept on praying to him, 
what did he say he w r ould do ? 

When the woman went home to her house, what 
did she find ? 



53. Jesus came to a city named Beth- 
saida, and some persons brought a blind man 
to him ; and they begged Jesus to make the 
blind man able to see. And Jesus pitied the 
man, and took him by the hand, and led him 
out of the town ; and he put his hands on the 
blind man's eyes, and then asked him if he 
could see. 

The blind man said yes, he could see, but 
he could not see well, for the men who were 
passing by did not look like men : they looked 









- ~> ■ 




JESUS MAKES THE BLIND MAN ABLE TO SEE. 



192 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



so large and high that they seemed to be trees 
walking along. 

Then Jesus rrnt his hands on the blind 
man's eyes again, and after that his eyes 
were made well, and he could see everything; 
plainly. 

When Jesus bame to Bethsaida, who was brought 
to him ? 

What did Jesus do to the blind man's eyes to make 
them well ? 

Was the man able to see plainly at first ? 

What did he say the men who were passing by 
looked like? 

What did Jesus do to his eyes then ? 

What was the man able to do after that ? 



54. Jesus took three of his apostles with 
him, and he went up on a lonely mountain to 
pray. And while he was praying his face 
was changed, so that it looked bright and 
shining, like the sun. And his clothes looked 
as white as snow. 

And all at once two men came there. They 



r r ~9 j^p 




JESUS ON THE MOUNTAIN. 



194 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



did not look like other men : they looked 
more beautiful. For these two men had come 
from the world where good people go when 
they die. 

We do not know where that w r orld is. 
But these two men lived in that world, and 
now they had come back to this world where 
we live, and where they used to live. But 
they had come back for only a little while to 
talk with Jesus. 

And presently a bright cloud came on the 
mountain, and it covered the three apostles, 
and they heard a voice speaking out of the 
cloud. It was God's voice. It said that 
Jesus was God's dear Son, and that the 
apostles should mind him. 

When the apostles heard God's voice, they 
were very much afraid ; and they kneeled 
down and put their faces to the ground. But 
Jesus came and put his hand on them, and 
told them to stand up and not be afraid. 

And they stood up and looked around, but 
the two men were not there now : they had 
gone back to that beautiful world where they 
lived. 



FIRST STEPS FOR. LITTLE FEET. 195 



Where did Jesus go with three of his apostles to 
pray ? 

While he was praying how was his face changed ? 

And his clothes looked as white as what ? 

Who came there to talk with Jesus ? 

Did these two men look like other men ? 

How did they look different from other men ? 

What world did these men live in ? 

Do we know where that world is ? 

What did these two men come back to this world 
for? 

What came on the mountain and covered the apos- 
tles ? — a bright what ? 

Whose voice spoke out of the cloud ? 

What did God's voice say ? 

How did the apostles feel when they heard God's 
voice ? 

When the apostles got up from the ground, were 
the two men there ? 

Where had they gone? 




196 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



55. Now, although Jesus had been so 
kind to the people in that land, these peo- 
ple did not love him. And why did they 
not love Jesus ? Because he told them about 
their sins. Their sins were the bad things 
that they did, and Jesus said they must stop 
doing those things ; for if they did not stop, 
God would punish them. 

But the j)eople did not want to stop, and 
they did not want to be told about their sins. 
They were angry at Jesus for telling about 
them, and they wanted to kill him, so that he 
could not speak about them any more. 

But Jesus knew what they were going to do 
to him, and he told the apostles that some day 
the people would kill him. But he said he 
would come to life again, and would come 
up out of the grave where the people would 
bury him. 

Had Jesus been very kind to the people in that 
land? 

Why did they not love him, then ? 

What are our sins ? 

What did the people want to do to Jesus for telling 
them about their sins ? 



198 FIRST STEPS FOE, LITTLE FEET. 



Did Jesus know they wanted to kill him ? 

What did Jesus tell the apostles he would do after 
the people had killed him and buried him in the 
grave ? 

56. A ma^ came to Jesus and kneeled 
down on the ground before him, and he 
said, Master, I have brought my son to you, 
for an evil spirit has gone into him. And 
sometimes this evil spirit makes my son fall 
into the fire, and sometimes into the water, 
because it wants to kill him. 

Jesus said, Bring your son to me. So they 
brought him to Jesus. And while they were 
bringing him, the evil spirit made him fall 
down on the ground. Then Jesus asked his 
father how long ago it was when the evil 
spirit went into his son. 

And his father said it was many years ago, 
when his son was only a little child. And 
the man said to Jesus, If you can do any- 
thing for us, have pity on us and help us. 
Then Jesus said to the evil spirit, Come out 
of the young man, and do not go into him 
again. 



200 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Then the spirit came out; but as he was 
coming, he shook the young man and made 
him so weak and sick that he seemed as if 
he were dead ; and many of the people who 
saw him lying on the ground said, He is dead. 

But Jesus took the young man by the hand 
and lifted him up ; and he stood on his feet, 
and was well. And Jesus gave him to his 
father. 

What was the matter with the young man who was 
brought to Jesus ? 

What did the evil spirit do to him sometimes ? 

Why did the evil spirit do this? 

What did Jesus say to the evil spirit ? 

Did the spirit mind Jesus ? 

But what did he do to the young man as he came 
out of him ? 

What did many of the people say as they saw him 
lying on the ground ? 

But when Jesus took him by the hand and lifted 
him up, was he well ? 




FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 201 



57. Oke day, when the apostles were 
walking along together, they began to quar- 
rel with each other. Each one of them 
Avanted the others to mind him, and this 
made them quarrel. 

When they came into the house, Jesus ask- 
ed them what they had been quarrelling about. 
• But they were ashamed, and did not like to 
tell him ; for they thought he had not heard 
them. But he knows everything we say, and 
he knew what they had said when they were 
quarrelling with one another. 

Then Jesus told the apostles that they must 
not want other persons to mind them, but they 
must be willing to mind what other persons 
said. For Jesus is not pleased with us when 
we are proud and when we think ourselves 
better than other persons. He is pleased with 
us when we think other persons better than 
ourselves. 



What did the apostles do while they were walking 
together one day ? 

What made them quarrel "7 

Did they think that Jesus had heard what they 
said ? 




THE APOSTLES QUARREL WITH ONE ANOTHER. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 203 



Does not Jesus know everything we say ? 

When he asked the apostles why they had been 
quarrelling, how did they feel ? 

What did he say about their wanting others to 
mind them? 

Is Jesus pleased with us when we are proud, and 
when we think that we are better than other per- 
sons? 

Does he teach us to think other persons better than 
ourselves ? 




204 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



58. I told you about the beautiful church, 
called the Temple, that was in the city of 
Jerusalem. Some ministers always stayed 
at the Temj)le, and the people used to send 
money to them. 

One day a man came to the apostle whose 
name was Peter, and the man asked Peter for 
some money to send to the ministers at the 
Temple. And Jesus told Peter he would 
give the man some money. 

But Jesus was poor, and how could he get 
the money ? In this way : Jesus said that 
Peter should take a long line, or string, with 
a sharp hook at the end of it, and he should 
let the hook down into the water. 

And Jesus said that a fish would come and 
be caught on the hook. Then Peter must 
pull up the fish ; and he must open its mouth, 
and there he would find a £>iece of money. 

So Peter did as Jesus told him. He took 
the line with the sharp hook tied to the end 
of it, and he went to the sea and let the hook 
down into the water ; and a fish came, and 
was caught fast on the hook. 

Then, when Peter felt the fish pulling at 




PETER TAKES THE MONEY OUT OF THE JIOUTH OF THE FISH. 



206 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



the line and trying to get away, he drew up 
the hook with the fish fast to it. And Peter 
took the fish into his hand ; and he opened 
its mouth, and found the piece of money 
there, just as Jesus had said. 

And Peter gave the money to the man who 
had asked for it, so that he might send it to 
the ministers at the Temple. 

Who used to stay at the beautiful church called 
the Temple ? 

What did the people use to send to the ministers 
at the Temple ? 

When a man asked Peter for some money, where 
did Jesus say lie would find it? 

Did Peter find the money in the fish's mouth ? 

What did Peter do with the money that he found 
there ? 




FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



207 



59. Sometimes little children want to do 
wrong, and they love to do it more than they 
love to do right. But Jesus says we must not 










LITTLE CHILDREN MUST FORGIVE EACH OTHER. 



do what is wrong ; and if we are doing wrong, 
we must stop doing it, no matter how hard it 
is to stop. 

For if we know that we are doing wrong, 
and go on doing it, and will not stop, then 
we shall be punished for it after we die. But 



208 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

if we mind God and do what is right, we shall 
be taken up to heaven after we die. 

Jesus said that if any person is unkind to 
us, and afterward that person comes and tells 
us he is sorry for it, we must forgive him. 
And if he is unkind to us a great many times, 
and afterward tells us he is sorry, we must 
forgive him every time, no matter how often 
it may be. 

Do little children sometimes love to do wrong 
more than they love to do right? 

If we go on doing wrong, and Avill not stop, what 
will be done to us after we die? 

But if we mind God and do what is right, where 
will we be taken to after we die ? 

If any person is unkind to us, and afterward he 
comes and tells us he is sorry for it, what must we 
do? 

Must we forgive him every time he tells us he is 
sorry, no matter how often it is ? 




FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 209 



60. Jesus told the apostles a story about 
a king. This king had a servant-man who 
worked for him, and the servant-man had 
some of the king's money ; and now the king 
wanted him to pay it back. 

But the servant-man could not do this, for 
he had no money to pay the king with. Then 
the king said that the servant and the ser- 
vant's wife and all his little children must be 
sold, so that the king might get the money that 
was paid for them. 

But when the servant heard what the king 
said, he was very sorry ; and he came to the 
king, and kneeled down on the ground before 
him, and begged him to wait a little while 
until he should go and try to get some money, 
and as soon as he got it, he said, he would come 
back and pay the king all that he owed 
him. 

And when the king saw how much troubled 
the servant was, he pitied him, and said that 
the servant and his wife and their little chil- 
dren should not be sold. And he told the 
servant that he would forgive him for the 
money, and that he need not ever pay it. 



210 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Then the servant was very glad, and he 
thanked the king for being so kind to him. 

But when he went out of the king's house, 
he met a man who owed him some money ; 
and the servant told the man that he must 
pay him the money. But the man could not 
do it. He said that he would pay it as soon 
as he could, but he could not do it then. 

But the king's servant would not wait, and 
he caught hold of the man's throat and said, 
Pay me the money you owe me. And be- 
cause the poor man could not do it right away 
the servant sent him to prison, to be shut up 
there. 

When the king heard what his servant had 
done, he was very angry ; and he called the 
servant to him and said, O wicked servant, I 
forgave you when you could not pay me, and 
you ought to forgive this poor man when he 
cannot pay you. Then the king sent the 
cruel servant away to be punished. 

This story is to teach us that we must be 
willing to forgive other persons when they 
have done wrong, or when they owe us some- 
thing that they cannot pay us. For if we do 




HE TAKES THE MAN BY THE THROAT. 



212 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



not forgive other persons, Grod will not for- 
give us. 

What was it that the servant owed the king in this 
story ? 

When the servant could not pay the money, what 
did the king say must be done to him, and his wife, 
and his children ? 

When the servant heard this, what did he kneel 
down and ask the king to do? 

Did the king pity the servant and forgive him, and 
say that he need not pay the money at all ? 

But when the servant went out of the king's house, 
whom did he meet? 

What did the servant do to the man ? 

When the man asked him to wait until he could 
get some money to pay him with, was the servant 
willing to wait ? 

Where did he send the man ? 

How did the king feel when he heard how cruel 
his servant had been ? 

Where did the king send him ? 

This story is to teach us that we must be willing to 
do what to other persons ? 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 213 



61. While Jesus and his apostles were 
walking along together, they came near to 
a little town, or village. A good many peo- 
ple lived in this village, and Jesus sent some 
of his apostles to ask them if they would not 
let him stop there, and rest, and get some food 
to eat. 

But the people in the village were unkind 
to Jesus, and would not let him stop. Then 
two of the apostles, named James and John, 
were very angry, and wanted to punish the 
people. And they asked Jesus to let them 
bring down fire from the sky, that would 
burn up the village and all the people who 
lived there. 

But Jesus would not let them do this, and 
he was displeased with James and John for 
wanting to do so cruel a thing. Jesus told 
them that he did not come down to this world 
to make persons die, but he came to save them 
from dying. 

And he would not punish the people who 
were unkind to him, but he went on to another 
village, and stopped there to rest and get food 
to eat. 



FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 215 



What did Jesus send some of his apostles into a 
village to ask? 

What did the people say when the apostles asked 
them ? 

How did the apostles James and John feel when 
the people said this ? 

What did they ask Jesus to let them do to punish 
the people ? 

Was Jesus displeased with the apostles for wanting 
to do so cruel a thing? 

Instead of punishing the people of that village, what 
did Jesus do ? 



62. Jesus told the people a story about a 
man who was going along a road that was 
very lonely and still. There were rocks and 
caves beside this road, where robbers used to 
hide. And all at once some robbers came 
out of the place where they had been hiding, 
and they stopped the man, and took away his 
money and his clothes, and everything that 
he had. 

They not only did this to him, but they 
beat him, and hurt him so much that he 
could not walk any further ; and he had to 



216 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



lie clown on the ground. Then the robbers 
went away and left him lying there, half dead. 

And after a while a man who was going 
along that road came to the place. This 
man was a minister ; he used to stay at the 
Temple and teach the people to be good 
and kind to each other. 

But he was not good and kind himself, for 
he would not help the poor sick man. He 
would not take the trouble to help him. In- 
stead of doing so, he crossed over to the other 
side of the road, and pretended he did not 
see him, and went away. 

Soon another man passed by ; but he did 
not help the poor man, either. He walked 
on, just as the minister had done, and left him 
lying on the ground where he found him. 

But after these two cruel men had gone, a 
man came along who was called a Samaritan. 
He was riding on an ass. As soon as he saw 
the man lying in the road he stopped, and 
got off the ass, and went to him. 

And he lifted him up very carefully and 
put him on the ass, and he walked beside 
him, with his arm around him, holding him, 




THE (iOOD SAMARITAN. 



218 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



so that he would not fall off. And he took 
him to a house that was near, and there he 
stayed with him all night and nursed him. 

And the next day, when he had to go away, 
he gave some money to the man who lived in 
the house, and told him to care for the sick 
man until he got well. 

This story is to teach us that we must be 
like the Good Samaritan. We must be kind 
to persons who are sick, and who have no one 
to take care of them ; and we must help 
them whenever we can. We must do this 
even when it gives us trouble to do it, and 
even if the person is some one we never saw 
before. 

Who came out and stopped the man as lie was 
going along the road in this story? 

What did the robbers take away from the man ? 

What else did they do to him ? 

Who came walking along by that place first? 

What did this minister use to teach the people to 
do? 

But was he good and kind himself? 

Instead of helping the poor sick man, what did 
tins minister do now? 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 219 



What did the man who passed by next do ? 

But when the Good Samaritan came, what did he 
do to the pooi* sick man ? 

This story is meant to teach us that we must be 
like whom ? 

Must we always be kind to persons who are sick 
or in trouble ? 



63. Jesus came to a village named Beth- 
any. A woman named Martha lived there, 
and she asked Jesus to come to her house. 
Martha had a sister named Mary. 

When Jesus came into the house, Mary 
stopped doing her work ; and she sat dow r n 
by his feet, so that she might listen to what 
he said. For Mary wanted Jesus to teach her 
about God, and to tell her what she must do 
to please God. 

But Martha thought that Mary should go 
on doing her w r ork ; and she asked Jesus to 
tell Mary to go on w T ith her work. But Jesus 
said that Mary did right to stop and listen to 
him. It was better for Mary to learn how to 
please God, Jesus said, than it was even to go 
on doinsr her work. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 221 



What was the name of the woman who asked 
Jesus to come to her house ? 

What was the name of Martha's sister ? 

When Jesus came into the house, where did Mary 
sit down ? 

Why did she sit down at his feet ? 

Was Martha pleased at this ? 

What did she ask Jesus to tell Mary to do ? 

But what did Jesus say when Martha asked this ? 




222 



FIKST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



64. A man asked Jesus to teach him what 
he should say when he said his j^rayers. 
Jesus told the man to say, Our Father who 
art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy 
kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth 




OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN. 



as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily 
bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we 
forgive those who trespass against us. And 
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us 
from evil ; for thine is the kingdom, the 
power, and the glory for ever. Amen. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 223 



This is called the Lord's Prayer, because 
the Lord Jesus teaches us to say it. But 
whenever we say this prayer, we must re- 
member that we are speaking to God; and 
we must think of what we are saying, or God 
will not listen to us. 

And Jesus not only teaches us to say the 
Lord's Prayer, but he tells us to pray to God 
for everything that we need. For God is our 
Father who lives up in heaven, and he loves 
to give his children the things they pray to 
him for. 

What did a man ask Jesus to teach him ? 

What is the name of the prayer that Jesus taught 
the man ? 

When we say this prayer, who are we speaking 
to? 

Will God listen to us if we do not think of what 
we say ? 

Does Jesus tell us to pray to God for everything 
that we need ? 

What does God love to give to his children ? 



224 FIRST STEPS FOE, LITTLE FEET. 

65. As Jesus was going along the street, 
he saw a man who was blind. This man had 
always been blind ; he was blind when he was 
a little child. And now he had grown up, 
but he could not work and earn money, be- 
cause he could not see. 

So he sat down in the street, and- begged 
the people who passed by to give him some 
of their money, so that he might buy food to 
eat and clothes to wear. 

When Jesus saw the man, he was sorry for 
him ; and he stooped down and took some 
clay off of the ground, and put it on the 
blind man's eyes, and told him to go and 
wash his eyes in a pool of water called the 
Pool of Siloam. 

Then the man went to the pool and washed, 
and after that he could see. But it was not 
the clay, nor the water in the pool, that cured 
his eyes. It was Jesus who cured them and 
made the man able to see. 

When the people who had known him be- 
fore saw the blind man walking along like 
any other person, with no one to lead him, 
they wondered, and said, Is not this the 




THE BLIND MAN WASHES IN THE POOL OF SILOAM. 



226 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



man who used to sit in the street and 
beg? 

Some of them said, Yes ; this is the man. 
Others said, This is not the blind man, but an- 
other man, who looks like him. But the man 
himself said, I am he. Then they asked him 
how he had been made well, and he told them 
that Jesus had made him well. 

But the men who asked him were not 
pleased when he said this, for these men 
were wicked ; they did not love Jesus, and 
they would not believe that he could make 
blind persons well. And when the man 
said it was ' Jesus who had cured him, they 
were angry with the man, and would not 
speak to him, or have anything more to 
do with him. 

Jesus heard how unkind they had been to 
him, and he came to the man and told him 
that it was God's Son who had made him 
well. For before that the man did not know 
41 that Jesus was God's Son. Then, when he 
heard this, he kneeled down on the ground 
and worshipped Jesus. 




THE BLIND MAN SAID, I AM HE. 



228 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



What was the matter with the man whom Jesus 
saw in the street begging ? 

What did Jesus put on the blind man's eyes ? 

After that, what did Jesus tell him to do ? 

When the man had washed his eyes in the pool, 
could he see ? 

Had the water or the clay cured his eyes, or was 
it Jesus who cured them ? 

How did the people treat the man when he told 
them that it was Jesus who cured him ? 

When Jesus told the man that it was God's Son 
who had made him well, what did the man do ? 




FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 229 

66. I toll you about Martha and her 
sister Mary, and that Jesus went to their 
house. Martha and Mary had a brother 
named Lazarus; and after Jesus went away 
from their house, Lazarus got sick. Then 
they sent word to Jesus that their brother 
was sick. 

When Jesus heard this, he came to them, 
for he loved Martha, and Mary, and Laz- 
arus ; but by the time he had come, Lazarus 
was dead, and was buried in his grave. And 
the people who were with Martha and Mary 
were crying, because they were sorry that 
Lazarus was dead. 

Jesus asked them where they had buried 
Lazarus, and they took him to the place. 
It was a cave in the ground, with a great 
stone rolled to its door, to shut it up. Jesus 
said to the people, Take away the stone. 
So they took away the stone from the door 
of the cave. 

Then Jesus said with a loud voice, Laz- 
arus, come forth. And as soon as he said 
this, Lazarus came out of the cave alive, 
with his grave-clothes fastened around him. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 231 



Jesus had made him alive by speaking those 
few words. And Jesus told the people to loosen 
his grave-clothes, so that he might be able 
to walk. Then Lazarus went with Martha 
and Mary to their home again, and he lived 
with them there as he used to do before. 



What was the name of Martha and Mary's 
brother ? 

When Lazarus got sick, who did Martha and 
Mary send for? 

What had happened to Lazarus by the time Jesus 
came to them? 

Where had they buried him? 

Did they bring Jesus to the cave? 

When they had taken away the stone from the 
door, what did Jesus say? 

What happened then? 

Who made Lazarus alive ? 

When Jesus did this, what was it? 

Can men do miracles ? 

Why could Jesus do miracles ? 

After Jesus had made him alive, where did Laz- 
arus go and live ? 



232 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



67. Jesus went into a church on the 
Sabbath-day. A woman was there who 
had been sick for a great many years, and 
her sickness made her bend over, so that 
she could not stand up straight, as you can. 




THE OX AND THE ASS ARE LED OUT TO WATER. 

She bent over when she walked, and while 
she sat still, and all the time : she could 
not htlp it. 

When Jesus saw her, he called her to him 
and told her that she should be well. And 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 233 



he put his hands on her, and she was cured 
right away, of her sickness, and could 
stand up straight, like other persons. Then 
she was glad, and she said how much she 
thanked God for being made well. 

But there was a man in the church who 
said that Jesus ought not to cure sick per- 
sons on the Sabbath-day, because God had 
said we must not do any work on that day. 
But Jesus asked the man whether he did 
not go into his stable on the Sabbath-day, 
and untie his ox and his ass, and lead them 
out, and give them water to drink. 

And if it was right to be kind to the 
ox and the ass on the Sabbath-day, Jesus 
said, was it not right to make this poor 
woman well on the Sabbath-day? Then 
all those persons who had found fault with 
him were ashamed, and could not answer 
him; but the rest of the people were glad 
for all the kind things he had done. 



What Avas the matter with the woman who was 
in the church on the Sabbath-day ? 

What did Jesus do to her to make her Avell ? 



234 FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Why did a man in the church say that Jesus 
ought not to cure the woman on that day? 

What did Jesus ask the man if he did for his ox 
and his ass on the Sabbath-day? 

If it is right to be kind to dumb beasts on the 
Sabbath-day, ought we not to be kind to poor sick 
people on that day ? 



68. After this a great many peorde came 
to the place where Jesus was, for him to teach 
them. Then Jesus said to the people that 
if they wanted to be his children, they must 
do whatever he told them, even when it w r as 
something they did not want to do. They 
must be willing to take up the cross, lie said. 

Let me explain to you what this means. 
Suppose you had a dollar in your pocket — a 
bright silver dollar. It had been given you, 
and it w r as your own, to do what you pleased 
with. Then you said to yourself, Now I will 
buy that beautiful plaything I have wanted 
so long. Perhaps it might be a little wagon 
or a paint-box, or something else that you 
wanted very much. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



235 



And you started to go to the shop where 
they had it to sell. But as you went you 
passed by the house where a poor little boy 
lived. You had often played with him when 




THE SICK BOY. 



he was well, but now he was sick, and you 
knew that his mother had not money enough 
to buy him the things that he wanted. 

You stopped by the door, and you remem- 
bered how kind Jesus was in making sick 



236 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



persons well. You could not do this, you 
could not make the little boy well ; but 
perhaps your money would buy something 
that would do him good and help to make 
him well. 

You think about this a little while; then 
you open the door and see the little boy lying 
on his bed. You go up to him, and speak 
kindly to him, and put your dollar in his 
hand. You are going to do without the 
beautiful plaything that you wanted so much, 
so that you may be kind to the poor sick 
boy. 

This is taking up the cross. It is doing 
something that you would rather not do ; yet 
you do it because it is right. 

Or suppose it is a pleasant summer morn- 
ing, and you are playing under some trees 
that grow before your door. A little way off 
you can see, through the trees, a high steeple 
with a clock in it. And while you are play- 
ing, your mother comes out of the house. 

She has her bonnet and shawl on, and she 
says, I am going to be away a good while — 
perhaps till dinner-time. You may play here 



FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



237 



until the clock in the steeple strikes, but then 
you must go in. Then she stoops down and 
kisses you, and afterward walks away along 
the street until you cannot see her any more. 






i"^f-' = - 



BlL-J 







THE CLOCK IN THE STEEPLE STRIKES. 

Then you begin to play again. Presently 
some other little children come to play with 
you ; and you play different games together, 
and are having a very happy time. But all 
at once you hear something that makes you 



238 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



stop. It is the clock in the steeple. How 
quickly its big hand has gone around, and 
how soon the time has come for the clock to 
strike. 

You were just beginning a new game ; it 
is so pleasant out under the trees. The sun is 
shining, and the birds are singing, and the chil- 
dren who are with you do not want you to go. 

But you remember what your mother said. 
The clock has struck, so you bid your little 
friends good-bye and go into the house. You 
do not want to go, it is very hard to go ; but 
you go because your mother told you to. 

This is taking up the cross to mind your 
mother. And Jesus says we must take up the 
cross to mind him, and to do what is right, 
or else we cannot be his children. 



What did Jesus tell the people they must take up 
if they wanted to be his children ? 

Suppose you went without some plaything that you 
wanted very much, and gave the money to a poor sick 
boy instead ; what would that be doing ? 

Or suppose you did not want to come in from your 
play, yet you came because your mother had told you 
to ; what would that be doing? 



FIKST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 239 



It would be taking up the cross to mind whom? 
Did Jesus say we must take up the cross to mind 
him? 

If we will not do this, we cannot be what ? 



69. Jesus told a story about a man who 
had two sons. And the younger son came 
to his father, and said that he wanted all 
the money his father was ever going to give 
him. So his father gave him all the money 
he had for him. 

Then the younger son took the money, 
and went away from his father's house to 
a courftry that was a great way off. And 
there he wasted and spent all the money 
his father had given him, until he had none 
of it left. 

Then he had to go and work for a man 
in that country, so as to get food to eat. 
And the man sent him out in his field to 
feed his swine ; but the man did not give 
him enough to eat himself, and he was 
very hungry. 

Then he was sorry he had s^one awav 



240 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



from his father's house. He remembered 
that when he was there he used to have 
plenty to eat, and more than he wanted. 
So he said to himself, I will go back to my 
father, and tell him how sorry I am that 
I went away and left him, and then perhaps 
he will forgive me and let me live at his 
house again. 

So he started to go back to his father's 
house ; but while he was a good way off, 
his father saw him coming. Then his father 
did not wait for him to come any nearer, 
but he ran out of the house to meet him, 
and put his arms around his neck, and 
kissed him. • 

Then the son began to tell his father how 
sorry he was that he had been so wicked 
as to go away and leave him. But his 
father was so glad to see him he would not 
let him say any more. He called the ser- 
vants to bring out new clothes and put on 
him, and to put a ring on his finger, and 
new shoes on his feet. 

And make a feast, the father said, and 
let us be happy ; because my son who had 



242 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



gone away and left me has come back again. 
I thought he was lost, but now he is found. 

This story is meant to teach us something. 
It is meant to teach us that if we have been 
wicked, but now are sorry for it, and will 
go to our heavenly Father and tell him we 
are sorry, then he will forgive us, just as 
the father in this story forgave his son when 
his son came back and told him. 



What did the younger son in this story ask his 
father to give him? 

When his father had given him the money, where 
did the younger son go? 

After he had spent all his money, what did he 
have to do, so as to get bread to eat. 

Did the man he worked for give him as much 
food as he wanted ? 

When he got very hungry, where did the younger 
son say he would go ? 

When his father saw him coming, what did his 
father do? 

Did his father forgive him when he saw how sorry 
he was for being so wicked ? 

Will God forgive us if we tell him we are sorry 
for the wicked things we have done, and do them 
no more? 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 243 



70- Jesus told the people another story. 
It was about a rich man who had a great 
deal of money and could buy everything 
he wanted. He wore beautiful clothes, and 
had nice things to eat every day. And in 
the same city where the rich man lived there 
was a poor man. His name was Lazarus. 

And Lazarus was not only poor, but he 
was sick and weak, and his body was covered 
with sores. And because he was so poor and 
sick, his friends used to carry him and lay 
him down outside of the rich man's door, 
so that he might get the pieces of bread 
that were left after the rich man was done 
eating his dinner. 

And the dogs that were in the street 
seemed to pity Lazarus, for they came and 
licked his sores. 

And poor sick Lazarus died. Then God 
sent some of his good angels for him, and 
the angels came and carried Lazarus up to 
heaven. But he was not sick or poor any 
more when he got to heaven, for God loved 
him, and made him well, and gave him every- 
thing to make him happy. 




LAZAEUS LYING BY THK RICH MAN'S DOOR. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 245 



And after a while the rich man died too. 
But the angels did not come for him. He 
was sent away to the place where wicked 
men go. And while he was there, being 
punished for his sins, he could see Lazarus 
a great way off, in heaven. 

And the rich man wanted to go to heaven, 
where Lazarus was ; but he could not, because 
he had been wicked. Let us try to be good, 
like Lazarus, and to love God and mind him. 
Then, after we die, God will send his angels 
for us, and they will take us, too, up to 
heaven. 

What did the rich man in the story have every 
day? 

What was the poor man's name? 

Did Lazarus have nice food to eat? 

Where did his friends carry him and lay him 
down ? 

Why did they lay him down at the rich man's 
door ? 

What seemed to pity poor Lazarus? 

When Lazarus died, who came for him and carried 
him up to heaven ? 

Was he sick and poor in heaven? 




THE ANGELS CARRY LAZARUS UP TO HEAVEN. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 247 



Did angels come for the rich man when he 
died? 

What place was the rich man sent to when he 
died? 

Could he see Lazarus a great way off, in heaven ? 

Why could not the rich man go to be with Laz- 
arus in heaven? 

Who will God send for us, if we love him and 
mind him, like Lazarus? 




248 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



71. Jesus told a story about two men who 
went up to the Temple to say their prayers. 
One of the men thought himself very good, 
and he wanted other people to think so too. 
So he stood in a place where other persons 
could see him, and he said his prayers out 
loud, so that other persons could hear him. 
He thought they would say, What a good 
man that must be who is saying his prayers 
over there. 

But the other man who went up to the 
Temple to pray did not want other people to 
hear him. He wanted only God to hear him, 
for he did not think himself good ; he re- 
membered how many times he had sinned, 
and now he was sorry for it. 

So this man went to a place in the Temple 
where other people would not notice him ; and 
when he prayed, he sj)oke in a low voice, so 
that nobody but God would hear him. And 
this is what he said, God, forgive me for all 
the sins that I have done. 

Then Jesus told the people who were lis- 
tening to this story that God was more pleased 
with this man than he was with the other. 



250 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



For God is not pleased with us when we are 
proud, and when we want other persons to 
praise us and call us good. He is pleased 
with us when we are sorry for our sins, and 
when we ask him to forgive us for them. 



What did the two men in this story go to the 
Temple to do? 

What did one of them think about himself? 

Did the other man think himself very good ? 

Which one of the men did Jesus say. God was 
most pleased with ? 

Is God pleased with us when we are proud, and 
when we want other persons to praise us and call us 
good? 

What is it that God wants us to be sorry for? 

Should we not ask him to forgive us for our sins 
every day ? 




FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 251 



72. Some persons brought little children 
to Jesus, for him to put his hands on their 
heads and pray for them. But the apostles 
thought this would be a trouble to Jesus ; and 
they found fault with the persons who brought 
them, and wanted those persons to take the 
children away again. 

But Jesus was displeased with the apostles 
for this. He told them to let the little chil- 
dren come to him, and not to forbid them. 
And he took them up in his arms, and spoke 
kindly to them. For Jesus loves little chil- 
dren ; and if they will love him and mind 
what he says, he will always remember them 
and take care of them. 



Whom did some persons bring to Jesus ? 

Why did the apostles find fault with the persons 
who brought them? 

What did the apostles want those persons to do 
with them ? 

Was Jesus pleased with the apostles for this ? 

What did he say about letting little children come 
to him ? 

What did he do to the little children that had been 
brought ? 



FIEST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



253 



73- Jesus told the apostles that when he 
came to the city of Jerusalem, the people 
who lived there 
would be very 
cruel to him. They 
would beat him, 
and would spit 
upon him, and af- 
ter that they would 
km him. They ^ - "s? ! 
would kill him ;/;'-"-..: 
by nailing him to _~- . - 

a cross. "■■■■'■.& ^~- 

A cross was made . 'T - '[ 
of two large pieces 
of wood fastened ilW/ ^Wp " : ": . - 
together. The CE05S 

people would kill Jesus by driving great nails 
through his hands and his feet, and nailing 
him fast to the cross. And then they would 
stand the cross up in the ground, and leave 
Jesus hanging on it until he died. 

They would do this because they were an- 
gry with him for telling them about their 
sins, and for saying that he was God's Son. 



/? r 



254 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



For the people were wicked. They did not 
want to be told about their sins, a*id they 
would not believe that Jesus was God's Son. 



How did Jesus say the people would treat him 
when he came to Jerusalem ? 
What would they nail him to ? 
What was a cross made of? 
Why were the people so angry at Jesus ? 
Would they believe that Jesus was God's Son ? 



74. Jesus came to a city named Jericho, 
and a great many people followed him, and 
crowded around him as he was walking along. 

And a j)Oor blind man named Bartimeus 
was sitting in the street; he was begging 
money from persons who passed by. 

When Bartimeus heard the noise of the 
crowd, he asked the people what it meant. 
They told him that Jesus was passing by. 
Then Bartimeus called out with a loud voice, 
Jesus, help me. The people told him to be 
still, but he only cried a great deal more, 
Jesus, help me. 

Then Jesus stood still and told the people 



256 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



to bring Bartimeus to him. When Bartimeus 
heard this, he was glad ; and he got up and 
made haste to go to Jesus. Jesus said to him, 
What is it you want me to do ? Bartimeus 
answered, To make my eyes well, so that I 
may be able to see. 

Then Jesus put out his hand, and touched 
his eyes ; and at once they were well, and he 
was able to see. Before that, Bartimeus had 
to let some other person lead him, but now he 
walked along the street by himself, and fol- 
lowed Jesus ; and he spoke, and thanked God 
because he was made well. 



What was the name of the blind man who sat in 
the street to beg ? 

When Bartimeus heard the noise of the crowd, 
what did he ask ? 

As soon as he heard that Jesus was passing by, 
what did he cry out ? 

Did Jesus stop and tell the people to bring Barti- 
meus to him ? 

When Jesus asked Bartimeus what he wanted him 
to do, what did Bartimeus say ? 

How did Jesus make his eyes well ? 

Did Bartimeus thank God for sending Jesus to 
make him well? 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



257 



75. I told you that the king was the 
man that everybody had to mind. All the 
people in that city had to mind the king, and 




ZACCHEUS IN THE TREE. 



the king said they must give him some of 
their money. The king did not go to get the 
money himself, but he sent men to get it for 
him. One of these men was named Zaccheus. 



258 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



As Jesus walked along the street, Zaccheus 
tried to see him ; but he could not, for the 
crowd. For Zaccheus was smaller than the 
other men ; he was not big enough to see 
over the heads of the rest of the people. 
So he ran on before, and climbed up a tree, 
and waited there until Jesus came by. 

When Jesus came to the place, he looked 
up and saw Zaccheus, and told him to come 
down, because he wanted to go and stay at his 
house that day. Then Zaccheus came down, 
and he was very glad to take Jesus to his 
house. 

And Zaccheus listened to all that Jesus 
said to him, and he promised to do all that 
Jesus told him to do. He would mind God, 
he said, and would try not to sin any more. 
And he would be kind to poor persons who 
had no money to buy clothes to wear and food 
to eat. He would give them some of his own 
money, he said, to buy these things with. 

And if he had ever taken anything for his 
own that did not belong to him, Zaccheus 
promised to give it back to the person he took 
it from. Then Jesus was pleased with Zac- 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 259 



cheus ; and Jesus told him that he would for- 
give all his sins, so that God would not be 
angry with him, or punish him for them. 

And if we want Jesus to forgive our sins, 
we must do like Zaccheus. We must mind 
what God says to us, and try not to do wrong 
any more. And we too must be kind to per- 
sons who are poorer than we are. If we have 
no money to give them, we must help them 
in any way that we can. 

And we must be very careful never to take 
for our own anything that belongs to another 
person. Then, if we do these things, Jesus 
will be pleased with us, and he will forgive us 
as he forgave Zaccheus. 



Who did everybody in that city have to mind ? 

What did the king tell the people they must give 
him? 

Did the king go and get the money himself, or. did 
he send men to get it for him ? 

What was the name of one of these men ? 

When Zaccheus could not see Jesus, for the crowd, 
what did he do ? 

When Jesus came to the tree, what did he say to 
Zaccheus ? 



260 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Where did Zaccheus take Jesus ? 

Did Zaccheus listeu to Jesus and promise to mind 
what he said ? 

What did Zaccheus say he would give to poor per- 
sons who had not any money to buy clothes or food 
with ? 

If he ever took anything that belonged to another 
person, what did he promise to do with it? 

Did Jesus tell Zaccheus he would forgive his sins, 
so that God would not be angry with him, or punish 
him for them ? 

If we want Jesus to forgive us, must we do like 
Zaccheus ? 



76. As Jesus was coming to the city of 
Jerusalem, he told two of his apostles to go 
into a village, or little town, that was near. 
And Jesus said they would find an ass tied 
there, and a colt with the ass. Jesus told 
the apostles to untie them and bring them to 
him. 

If some men should ask why they took 
them, the apostles were to say that Jesus had 
sent for them. Then Jesus said the men would 
let the apostles take them. 



262 FIKST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



So the apostles went to the village, and they 
found the ass and the colt tied there, as Jesus 
had told them they would. As they untied 
them, some men asked why they did this ; 
and the apostles said that Jesus had sent 
for them. Then the men let the apostles 
take the ass and the colt, and they brought 
them to Jesus. 

And Jesus sat on the colt, and rode into 
the city of Jerusalem on the colt's back. A 
great crowd of people followed after him as 
he was riding along, and they all cried out, 
Hosanna. And some of them took off their 
coats and laid them down on the ground, and 
other persons cut off branches from the trees 
and laid them on the ground, for Jesus to ride 
over them. 

They did this to show how glad they were 
to have Jesus come into their city ; for that 
was the way they used to do when a king rode 
through their streets. 




JESUS RIDES INTO THE CITY ON A COLT. 



264 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



And Jesus went up to the Temple ; and the 
people brought to him some persons who were 
blind, and others who were lame, and Jesus 
made them well. In the evening he went 
away from Jerusalem and came to the village, 
named Bethany, that was not far off; and he 
slept at Bethany. 



What did Jesus send two of his apostles into a 
village to find ? 

What were they to do with the ass and the colt ? 

Where did Jesus ride on the colt's back ? 

What did some of the people put down on the 
ground for him to ride over? 

Why did they do this ? — to show what ? 

Who did the people bring to Jesus at the temple ? 

What did Jesus do to the persons who were blind 
and lame? 

What was the name of the village that Jesus went 
to in the evening ? 

Did he sleep at Bethany ? 




266 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



77. The next morning, as Jesus was com- 
ing back to Jerusalem, he saw a* fig tree grow- 
ing by the road, and he came to it. Figs are 
good to eat. They grow on trees, like' apples 
and pears. Jesus came to this tree to get 
some of the figs and eat them, because he 
was hungry. 

But when he came to it, he found no figs 
on the tree ; only leaves were growing there. 
Then Jesus spoke to the tree, and said that 
no more figs should ever grow on it. The 
next day the apostles passed by the tree 
again ; and when they looked at it, they 
saw it was dead, from its roots all the way 
up to its top. 

The words that Jesus spoke to it made the 
tree die. The tree had minded him, because 
he was God's Son. For everything must mind 
Jesus. When Jesus made the tree die by only 
speaking to it, that was a miracle. 



What did Jesus see growing by the road as he was 
going to Jerusalem ? 

What did he come to the fig tree to get ? 
Were there any figs growing on the tree ? 



268 FIRST STEPS FOE, LITTLE FEET. 



When Jesus found that nothing but leaves were 
growing on it, what did he say to the tree ? 

When the apostles passed by the tree the next day, 
how did it look ? 

What had made the tree die ? 

When Jesus made it die by speaking to it, what 
was that? 



78. Jesus told the people a story about 
a man who made a vineyard. A vineyard 
is a place where grape-vines grow. And 
this man planted a great many grape-vines 
in the ground, and made a vineyard. 

Then he set np a fence, or wall, around 
his vineyard ; and he built a house there, 
and sent some men to stay and take care 
of his grape-vines. But the man himself 
went away to another country. 

After a long while, when it was time for 
the grapes to be ripe, the man sent his ser- 
vant to get some of the grapes for him. 
But the men who took care of the vine- 
yard would not give the servant any. Then 
the man sent another servant; but the men 
threw stones at him, and hurt him on the 



270 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



head, and would not give him any grapes, 
either. 




THE MEN SAID TO ONE ANOTHEK, LET US KILL HIM. 

Then the man said to himself, What shall 
I do to make these men mind me? Now, 



FIRST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



271 



the man had one son that he loved very 
much, and he said, This is what I will do : 




THEY KILL THE s>0>". 



I will send my dear son to them ; they will 
be afraid to hurt him. 

So the man sent his son ; but when the 



272 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 

men saw him coming, they said to one 
another, Let us kill him and take the vine- 
yard for our own. And as soon as the son 
came into the vineyard, they took hold of 
him, and put him out, and killed him. 

Jesus told this story to show what the 
wicked people in that land were going to 
do to him. For Jesus was God's Son, and 
God had sent him to tell the people they 
must love and mind him. But, instead of 
minding what God said to them, they were 
going to kill his dear Son, like the wicked 
men in the vineyard. 



What grows in a vineyard? 

After the man in this story had planted his vine- 
yard, where did he go? 

Who did he leave in his vineyard to take care 
of his grape-vines? 

After a long time, what did the man send his 
servant to the vineyard for? 

Would the men in the vineyard give his servant 
any of the grapes ? 

Who did the man send that he was sure they 
would mind? 

But what did the men in the vineyard do to his son? 



FIKST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



273 



Was this story meant to show what the people 
were going to do to Jesus? 

Whose Son was Jesus ? 

Had God sent Jesus to teach the people to love 
him? 

But instead of minding what he said, what were 
they going to do to Jesus? 

18 




274 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



79. Jesus told the people another story. 
It was about a king who had a son that got 
married. Then the king made a wedding- 




THEY WOULD XOT COME TO THE FEAST. 

feast, and asked some persons to come to it. 
And when the feast was all ready, the king 
sent his servants to tell those persons that 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 275 

now they should come. But they would 
not come. 

Then the king sent his servants again 
to tell them that all the nice things were 
on the table waiting, and that it was time 
for them to come to the feast. But some 
of the people would not listen to what the 
servants said ; and some listened, but would 
not mind ; and some were so wicked that 
they took the king's servants and killed 
them. 

When the king heard what they had 
done, he was very angry, and he sent his 
soldiers to the place where the men lived ; 
and the soldiers burned up their houses 
with fire, and killed those wicked men. 

Then the king called some other servants 
to him, and told them that the feast was all 
ready, but that there was nobody to eat it, 
for the men who were asked to it before 
could not come to it now. 

So the servants must go and get some 
other persons to come to the feast. They 
must go out into the streets, the king said, 
and bring in everybody they met. So the 



276 FIKST STEPS FOP. LITTLE FEET. 



servants went out, and brought in a great 
many jDeople. 

But these people had not nice enough 




HE HAD NOT ON THE BEAUTIFUL CLOTHES. 



clothes to come into the king's house with. 
So the king had beautiful new clothes made 



FIKST STEPS FOB, LITTLE FEET. 277 



for them, and each person who came into the 
king's house had to take some of these new 
clothes and put them on. 

Then, as soon as he had put them on, he 
went into the room where the feast was 
ready, and sat down with the rest of the 
people at the table. 

But when the king came into the room 
to speak to the people, he saw a man there 
who did not have on the beautiful new 
clothes. Then he asked the man how it was 
that he came into the feast without them. 

But the man was ashamed, and could not 
answer the king; for he knew that when 
those clothes were offered to him, he would not 
take them, because he was proud and thought 
that his own clothes were good enough. 

Then the king was angry, and he told his 
servants to bring the man out from the feast, 
and to tie his hands and his feet, so that he 
could not get away, and then to take him to 
the place where he should be punished for not 
minding the king. 

This story is meant to teach us that we 
must always be willing to mind God, and 



278 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



to do exactly the way that he tells us to do. 
For if we are not willing to do God's way, 
but want to do our own way, he will not be 
pleased with us or take us for his children. 



Who made a feast for his son in this story ? 

When the king sent his servants to tell the peo- 
ple to come to his feast, what did they do to his 
servants ? 

Who did the king send to punish those people ? 

What did the soldiers do to them ? 

Where did the king send his servants afterward to 
find people to come to his feast ? 

Had the people who came in from the streets nice 
enough clothes to come into the king's house with ? 

What did each person have to put on ? 

When the king came into the room, whom did he 
see there ? 

Why had this man not put on the new clothes 
when they were offered to him ? 

What did the king tell his servants to do to 
him? 

And where were they to take him ? 

Is this story meant to teach us that we must be 
willing to do just as God tells us? 

If we are not willing to do God's way, but want to 
do our own wav, will God have us for his children ? 



FIEST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 279 



80. I told you about the Bible, that it is 
God's book. It tells us the things that God 
wants us to do. A man came to Jesus and 
asked him what it was that God wanted us to 
do most. Jesus said that the thing God 
wanted us to do most was to love him. 

We cannot see God, but he is so kind to us 
that we can love him without seeing him. 
Very often persons that we love go away 
where we cannot see them ; yet we keep on 
loving them, and we want to see them. 

We shall see God after we die, but he wants 
us to love him now, before we die. And we 
ought to love God more than we love any one 
else. 

And Jesus said there was another thing 
God wants us to do besides loving him : he 
wants us to love each other. If we love each 
other, we will be kind to each other ; and then 
God is pleased with us when we are kind to 
each other. 

Whose book is the Bible ? 
What things does the Bible tell us about ? 
What is it that Goc 1 wants us to do more than 
anything else? 




JESUS TELLS THE MAN WHAT GOD WANTS TJS TO DO. 



FIEST STEPS FOE LITTLE FEET. 



281 



Who else does God want us to love beside loving 
him? 

If we love one another, how will that make us 
treat one another? 

Is God pleased with us when we are kind to each 
other ? 




««$& 



282 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



81. There were some men in that country 
called Pharisees. These men used to say their 




PHARISEE PRAYING IN THE STREET. 



prayers out in the streets, where people could 
hear them, for they wanted the people to 
think they were good, and to praise them. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 283 



And so, whenever anybody was looking at 
them, they were very careful to do what was 
right ; but when nobody saw them, they did 
what was wrong. 

Jesus said we must not be like the Phari- 
sees. We must not say our prayers for other 
persons to hear us, but for God to hear us. 
And we must not do right because we want 
other persons to think us good, but because 
God tells us to do right, and because we want 
to please him. 

Where did the men called Pharisees use to say 
their prayers? 

Who was it that they wanted to hear them saying 
their prayers ? 

W r hy did they want the people to hear them ? 

When anybody was looking at them, what were 
the Pharisees very careful to do? 

But when nobody saw them, what did they do ? 

Ought we to be like the Pharisees ? 

Who is it that we should want to hear us when we 
say our prayers ? 

Ought we to do right only when somebody sees us ? 

Who sees us all the time ? 

Should we do right because we want to please 
him? 



284 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



82. I told you before about the beautiful 
church called the Temple. Some ministers 
always stayed at the Temple, and the people 
who went there used to give them money. 
The people did not put this money into the 
minister's hands, but they dropped it into a 
box that had a hole in the top, and that stood 
near the Temple. 

Every person dropped in just as much as he 
chose. After a good deal had been dropped 
in, the ministers opened the box and took the 
money out, and they bought things with it for 
the Temple. And this money was the same as 
if it were given to God ; it was God's money. 

And one day Jesus saw the people dropping 
their money into the box. Some of them 
who were rich dropped in a great deal. But 
after a while a poor woman who was a widow 
came, and dropped in only a very small piece 
of money. 

Then Jesus called his apostles to him, and 
told them that God was more pleased with the 
small piece of money that the poor woman 
gave, than he was with the large pieces of 
money that the rich people gave. 




THE POOR WOMAN GIVES A SMALL PIECE OP MONEY. 



286 FIEST steps" for little feet. 



For the rich people had plenty of money 
left for themselves afterward. But the poor 
woman had nothing left for herself, because 
she gave all that she had, and did not save 
enough even to buy bread with. And this 
showed how much she loved God; and God 
wants us to love him more than he wants us 
to do anything else. 



What did the people use to give to the ministers 
who stayed at the Temple ? 

What did they drop this money into ? 

Who was it that gave the large pieces of money ? 

Who came there and dropped in a very small piece 
of money? 

Which did God think the most of, the large pieces 
of money that the rich people gave, or the small 
piece that the poor widow gave ? 

Had the rich people plenty of money left for 
themselves afterward ? 

But had the poor woman any left for herself? 

Did she give all she had to God ? 

What did this show ? 

What does God want us to do more -than anything 
else? 



FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 287 



83. Jesus told a story about some young 
women who went out in the night, carrying 
lamps with them. They went out to meet a 
man who had just been married. This man 
was called the bridegroom, and now the bride- 
groom was coming home to his house. 

These young women went out to meet him, 
and each one of them carried a lamp in her 
hand. And because the bridegroom stayed 
longer than they expected, they sat down to 
wait till he should come. And they all fell 
asleep. * 

And in the middle of the night somebody 
woke them and said, The bridegroom is com- 
ing ; go out to meet him. Then they all got 
up quickly and began to get ready. But they 
found that while they were asleep their lamps 
had gone out. The reason was that all the oil 
was burned up in them. 

Now, some of the young women were wise, 
and they brought more oil with them, beside 
the oil that was in the lamps ; and now they 
poured this oil into their lamps and lighted 
them again. Then they were ready when the 




THEY HAD THEIK LAMPS BURNING WHEN THE BRIDEGROOM CAME. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 289 



bridegroom came ; and lie took them with him 
into his house, and gave them a feast. 

But the other young women were foolish ; 
they did not bring any more oil with them, 
so they had to go away to buy some ; and 
by the time they came back it was too late. 
For the bridegroom had gone into his house 
and shut to the door, and they could not get in. 

And this is the way it will be, Jesus says, 
at the Judgment-Day. He is coming then, 
and some people will be ready when he 
comes, like the wise young women, who had 
their lamps burning. 

But some people will not be ready, like the 
foolish young women, whose lamps were out 
when the bridegroom came. If we want to be 
ready for Jesus when he comes at the Judg- 
ment-Day, we must love him and mind him 
now. 



What did the young women who went out at night 
carry in their hands ? 

Who did they go out to meet ? 

When the bridegroom stayed, longer than they ex- 
pected, did they all fall asleep *? 




THE DOOR WAS SHUT, AND THEY COULD NOT GO IN TO THE FEAST. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 291 



What did some one come and say in the middle of 
the night ? 

When they woke up ? what ha^l happened to their 
lamps ? 

Why had their lamps gone out ? 

What had the wise young women brought with 
them ? 

What did they do with this oil ? 

Did the bridegroom take them with him into his 
feast ? 

Had the foolish young women brought any more 
oil? 

What did they have to do to get some ? 

When they came back, could they go in to the 
feast? 

Who is coming down to this world again at the 
Judgment-Day ? 

If we want to be ready for Jesus when he comes 
at the Judgment-Day, what must we do now ? 




292 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



84. And Jesus told his apostles about the 
Judgment-Day. The Judgment-Day will be 
the last day in this world. There will never 
be another day after that. Jesus will come 
down from heaven on that day, and all the 
angels will come with him. Then he will 
sit on a high seat, called a throne, where 
everybody can see him. 

You and I will see him then, and every one 
will see him. The people who are dead and 
buried in their graves will come to life again 
at the Judgment-Day. Jesus will call to 
them, and they will hear him, and will come 
up out of their graves ; and they will stand 
where they can see Jesus. 

The good people who have loved him and 
minded him will stand on one side, and the 
bad people who have not minded him will 
stand on the other side. Then Jesus will 
take all those who have loved him up to 
heaven, but those who have not loved him 
will be sent awav from him for ever. 



What is die last day called that will ever be in this 
world ? 




JESUS TELLS HIS APOSTLES ABOUT THE JUDGMENT-DAY. 



294 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Who is coming down to this world at the Judg- 
ment-Day ? 

Who will come with Jesus ? 4 

Where will he sit ? 

Will you and I and every one see him ? 

Who will come to life again at the Judgment- 
Day? 

Will they hear Jesus when he calls them, and come 
up out of their graves ? 

Where will the good people who have loved and 
minded Jesus stand? 

Where will the bad people who have not loved 
him stand ? 

Where will Jesus take the good people who have 
loved him ? 

But what will be done to those who have not loved 
him? 



85. You remember that the apostles were 
the men who stayed with Jesus all the time. 
There were twelve apostles, and they all lov- 
ed Jesus, except one ; this one was named 
Judas. He did not love Jesus ; he loved to 
get money for himself more than he loved 
anything else. 

And now Judas went to the men who 



FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 295 




THE MEN PROMISE JUDAS THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER. 

wanted to kill Jesus, and lie asked them 
how much money they would give him if 
he would show them where Jesus was. The 
men told Judas that if he would show them 
where Jesus was, so that they could go and 



296 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



take him, they would give Judas thirty pieces 
of silver. 

Then Judas made up his mind that as soon 
as he could find Jesus in some place alone he 
would show these wicked men the place, so 
that they could go there and take Jesus, to 
kill him. 

How many apostles were there ? 

Did they all love Jesus except one ? 

What was this one's name ? 

What did Judas love more than anything else ? 

What did Judas go and ask the men who wanted 
to kill Jesus ? 

How much money did they promise to give him ? 

Did Judas make up his mind that some day he 
would show them the place where Jesus was, so that 
they could take him to kill him? 

86. The people who lived in that country 
used to have a feast, called the feast of the 
passover. They had this feast once every 
year. It was the time to have it now. Jesus 
and his apostles were going to have the feast 
together, but they had no place to have it in. 
And the apostles came to Jesus and said, 




THE APOSTLES FOLLOW THE MAN INTO THE HOUSE. 



298 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Where shall we get the feast ready ? Jesus 
told them to go into the street, and they would 
meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. 

The man would go into a house, Jesus said, 
and the apostles were to follow him into the 
house; and they were to ask the man who 
lived there to show them a room where they 
might have the feast. And the man would 
show them a room up stairs, Jesus said, with 
a table in it, and seats around the table. 

So the apostles did as Jesus told them. They 
went into the street and met a man carrying a 
pitcher of water ; then they followed him into 
the house, and they told the man who lived 
there that Jesus had sent them. And the 
man showed them a large room up stairs, as 
Jesus said he would. And the apostles made 
the feast ready in that room. 

In the evening Jesus came with them to the 
table. Then he told the apostles that this was 
the last time he would ever eat the feast with 
them. Very soon, he said, he would be taken 
away from them : he meant that very soon he 
would die, for he knew that the people were 
going to kill him. Then Jesus told the apos- 




JESUS WITH THE APOSTLES, AT THE TABLE. 



300 FIRST STEPS FOE, LITTLE FEET. 



ties that he was going up to heaven to make 
a place ready for them there, but afterward, 
he said, he would come back to take them up 
to heaven too. Jesus meant that he would 
come back and take them at the Judgment- 
Day. 

And after they had eaten the feast, Jesus 
and his apostles sang a hymn together. Then 
they went out of the house, and came to a 
place where there was a garden. And when 
they came into the garden, Jesus went a 
little way off by himself, and he kneeled 
down on the ground and prayed. 

When he came back to the apostles, he 
found they were asleep. Then he told them 
they ought not to sleep. They should pray 
to God, he said, that God would keep them 
from doing wrong. 



What was the name of the feast that the people 
used to have in that country ? 

How often did they have this feast ? 

Were Jesus and his apostles going to have this 
feast together? 

What did the apostles come and ask Jesus ? 




JESUS PRAYS IN THE GARDEN. 



302 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Who did Jesus say they would meet in the street? 

Where would the man go ? 

Were the apostles to follow him into the house? 

What were they to ask the man who lived in the 
house to show them ? 

Did the apostles do as Jesus said ? 

Where did the man show them a room ? 

Who came in the evening with the apostles to the 
table ? 

Did he say that this would be the last time he 
would ever eat the feast with them ? 

What did Jesus know the people were going to do 
to him ? 

Where did he say he was going to make a place 
ready for the apostles ? 

When was he coming back to this world to take 
the apostles up to heaven too ? 

After they had eaten the feast, where did Jesus and 
the apostles go ? 

What did Jesus do in the srarden ? 




FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 303 



87. Judas, the wicked apostle, did not go 
into the garden with Jesus, but he was watch- 
ing to see where he went. And when Judas 
saw that Jesus had gone into the garden, he 
thought it wtfuld be a good time for him to 
go and tell the men who wanted to kill Jesus. 

So Judas went to those men, and told them 
where Jesus had gone. And the men gave 
Judas the thirty pieces of silver they had 
promised him. 

Then they sent some wicked men with Ju- 
das to take Jesus. These men carried clubs 
and swords to fight with. They carried lan- 
terns, too, so that they could see in the dark, 
because now it was night. And Judas went 
with the men to show them the way to the 
garden. 

While they were going, he told them how 
they should know which one was Jesus. Ju- 
das said that as soon as they came into the gar- 
den he would go up to Jesus and kiss him, and 
then, he said, the men should take Jesus and 
hold him fast. 

So Judas came with the men into the gar- 
den ; and he went up to Jesus, and pretended 




JUDAS CALLS JESUS MASTER, AND KISSES HIM. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET, 305 



he was glad to see him, and called him Mas- 
ter, and kissed him. As soon as he had kissed 
him the men took hold of Jesus, and they 
fastened ropes, or chains, around him, so 
that he could not get away. 



Did Judas go with Jesus into the garden ? 

When he found that Jesus had gone there, who 
did he go and tell? 

What did those men give Judas? 

Did they send some wicked men with Judas to 
take Jesus? 

What did these men carry with thern ? 

How did Judas say they should know which one 
was Jesus? 

After Judas had kissed Jesus, what did the men 
do to him? 




306 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



88. When the apostles saw the men put- 
ting chains around Jesus, they were angry, 
and were going to fight with them. And one 
of the apostles, named Peter, took a sword 
that he had, and he struck one of the men 
with it, and cut off his ear. But Jesus told 
Peter to put away his sword. Then Jesus 
touched the man's ear, and made it well 
again. 

Jesus did not want the apostles to fight for 
him. He said that God would send down a 
great many angels from heaven to fight for 
him if he asked for them. But Jesus would 
not ask for them. He was willing to let the 
men take him, and he was willing that they 
should kill him. 

Why was Jesus willing to let the men kill 
him ? Because that was the way he was go- 
ing to be punished in our place for all the 
sins that we have done. 

So the men took Jesus with them out of . 
the garden. Then the apostles were afraid 
that the men would take them too, and they 
all made haste and went away, and left 
Jesus alone with the men. 




:>^y /%ryw 



308 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



How did the apostles feel when they saw the men 
putting chains on Jesus ? 

What did one of the apostles, named Peter, do ? 

What did Jesus do to the man's ear ? 

Did he want the apostles to fight for him ? 

Whom did Jesus say God would send down from 
heaven to fight for him if he asked for them ? 

Was Jesus willing to let the men kill him ? 

Why was Jesus willing to be killed ? 

When the apostles saw the men taking Jesus away, 
what were they afraid of? 

And what did the apostles do? 



89. There was in that land a man called 
the governor. He was the one who rmnished 
persons for doing wrong. And the men who 
wanted to kill Jesus brought him to the gov- 
ernor ; and they told the governor that Jesus 
had done wrong, and that he should be pun- 
ished. 




JESUS IS BROUGHT TO THE GOVERNOR. 



310 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Jesus had not clone wrong, but these men 
said he had ; and they told the governor that 
Jesus was a wicked man, and that he ought to 
be killed. Then the governor was very cruel 
to Jesus ; he beat him with a whip, and after 
that he told some soldiers to take him away 
and kill him. And the soldiers got a cross 
that was made of wood ; and they laid Jesus 
on it, with his arms stretched out, and they 
drove great nails through his hands and his 
feet, and nailed him fast to the cross. 




JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS. 



312 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



Then they set the cross up in the ground 
with Jesus nailed to it. And the soldiers 
stayed there and watched him, hut they did 
not feel sorry for him, or try to help him ; hut 
they left him hanging on the cross until he 
died. 



What was that man called who used to punish 
persons for doing wrong? ' 

What did the men avIio wanted to kill Jesus tell 
the governor about him ? 

Was the governor very cruel to Jesus ? 

What did he do to him first? 

Then what did he tell some soldiers to do to Jesus? 

What did the soldiers nail him to ? 

Were they sorry for him, or did they try to help 
him? 

Where did they leave him hanging till he died? 





JESUS HANGS ON THE CROSS TILL HE 



314 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



90. There was a rich man, named Jo- 
seph, who loved Jesus. And when Joseph 
saw that Jesus was dead, he went to the gov- 
ernor, and asked the governor to let him take 
Jesus down from the cross and bury him. 
And the governor said he might do it. 

So Joseph came to the place where they 
had killed Jesus, and he pulled out the great 
nails that they had driven through his hands 
and his feet ; and he took Jesus down from 
the cross. 



316 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



And Joseph wrapped up his dead body in 
some new, clean linen that he had bought. 
And a good man named Nicodemus came and 
helped Joseph, and they buried Jesus in a cave 
that was hollowed out of a rock. And they 
rolled a great stone to the door of the cave, to 
shut it up, and went away, and left Jesus there. 
And some women who loved Jesus came and 
saw where he was buried. 

Then the governor sent some soldiers to 
watch by the cave, and to keep the apostles 
of Jesus from going to it. 




JESUS IS BURIED IX THE CAYE. 



318 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



But in the night, while it was dark and still, 
God sent an angel down from heaven. When 
the soldiers saw the angel, they were afraid, 
so that they trembled and fell down on the 
ground, and could not move, and were like 
dead men. And the angel came to the cave, 
and he rolled away the stone from the door. 
And Jesus came out of the cave alive. 

You remember how he had told his apos- 
tles, long before that time, that the people 
would kill him and bury him in the grave. 
But he would come to life again, he said, and 
would come out of the grave after the people 
had buried him. And now Jesus did come 
to life again and come out of the grave, as he 
tolcl the apostles he would. 



"What did a good man named Joseph ask the gov- 
ernor to let him do ? 

After Joseph had taken Jesus down from the cross, 
what did he wrap up his dead body in ? 

Who came to help Joseph ? 

Where did they bury Jesus ? 

What did they roll to the door of the cave ? 

Why did the governor send soldiers to watch 
there ? 

Whom did God send down in the night ? 



320 FIEST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



How did the soldiers feel when they saw the 
angel ? 

Did the angel roll away the stone from the door ? 

Who came out of the cave alive ? 

Had Jesus told the apostles, before, that he would 
come to life again, after the people had killed him ? 



91 . After he came out of the grave, Jesus 
went to the apostles. They were in a room 
together, and the door was shut. But Jesus 
came into the room. When the apostles saw 
him, they were afraid ; for they thought it 
could not be Jesus : they thought he was 
dead. 

But Jesus told them not to be afraid. 
Then he showed them his hands and his feet 
with the marks of the nails in them, so they 
might know that he had really come to life 
again. 

Then Jesus told the apostles that they must 
go and tell all the people how he had died on 
the cross for them. They were not only to 
tell the people who lived in that land, but 




JESUS IN THE ROOM WITH THE APOSTLES. 



322 FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



they were to go over the whole world, and to 
tell every person. 

And Jesus wanted you and me to be told 
about it, too, so that we might know how 
much he loved us, and so that we might love 
him, and be willing to do everything that he 
tells us to do. 



After he had come out of the grave, whom did 
Jesus go and talk with ? 

Where were the apostles ? 

Were the doors of the room shut? 

How did the apostles feel when they saw Jesus? 

Why were they afraid? 

What did Jesus show them, so they might know 
he had really come to life again? 

What did he tell the apostles they must go and 
tell all the people? 

Did he want you and me to be told about this too ? 

Why did he want us to be told about it ? 



%$M #^^3V 




FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 323 



92. After Jesus had talked with the 
apostles, he took them out of the city to a 
place by themselves. And Avhile he was 
speaking to them there, he went up from 
them toward the sky. He , went up higher 
and higher, until they saw him go into a 
cloud ; and then they could not see him any 
more. 

Then two angels came and spoke to the 
apostles, and told them that Jesus had gone 
up to heaven. And Jesus is in heaven now ; 
but he looks down from there, and sees all 
the little children who love him and mind 
him. He hears them when they pray to 
him, and he helps them to be good. 

They never need be afraid, for he loves 
them and will take care of them. And when 
he comes down to this world again, at the 
Judgment-Day, he will call them all to him ; 
then he will take them up to heaven, and they 
will stay with him there always. 



After Jesus had talked with the apostles, where did 
he take them ? 

While he was speaking to them, what happened? 




JESUS GOES UP TO HEAVEN. 



FIRST STEPS FOR LITTLE FEET. 



325 



What did they see him go into ? 

Could they see him any more after that ? 

Who came then and spoke to the apostles ? 

Where did the angels say that Jesus had gone ? 

And where is he now ? 

Does he look down from heaven and see all the 
little children who love him and mind him ? 

Why need they never be afraid ? 

Where will he take them when he comes again at 
the Judgment-Day? 

How long will they stay with Jesus in heaven? 




INDEX. 



B A 



A NGELS, 28, 44-58. 
■^ Animals, 16. 
Animals, tame, 16. 
Animals, wild, 18. 
Anointing, 129. 
Apostles chosen, 120. 
Apostles quarrel, 201. 
Apostles sent out to preach, 320. 
Ass, 232. 

^AD angels, 161. 

Bad spirit, Satan, 7:;. 
Baptize, 70. 
Bart imeus, 254. 
Bear, 16, 42, 47. 
Bee. 22. 
Bed, 105, 106. 
Bethany, 219, 264. 
Bethlehem, 37, 56. 
Bethesda, 109. 
Bible, 114. 

Birds, God feeds them, 138. 
Bird's nest, 10. 
Boats, 90. 

Bow and arrows, 30. 
Bread, Jesus asked to change stones 

into, 73. 
Butterfly, 22. 

pAMELS, 64. 

^ Camel's hair, 64. 

Cana, 77. 

Capernaum, 90, 105, 165. 

Clouds, 9. 

Commandment, first and greatest, 

279. 
Cow, 16. 
Cradle, 39. 
Cross, 234. 

Cross, we must take it up, 234. 
Cross, figure of, 253. 

DANIEL, 33. 
Den, 33. 
Duck, 14. 



IP 



EAGLE, 12. 
Evil spirits, 161. 

FIRE (saved from, A story), 46. 
Firefly, 23. 
Fishes, 20. 
Flowers, 9. 
Forgiveness enjoined, 208. 

GtARMENT, new, at the wedding- 
r feast, 276. 
Geese, 14. 
Girl who comes in at the striking of 

the clock (A story), 236. 
Governor, 308. 
Gun, 48. 

AGAR, 28. 
Herod kills John, 80. 
Hive, 22, 23. 
Honey, 22-26. 
Honeysuckle, 11. 
Holy Spirit, 71. 
Horse, 16. 

Houses (Eastern), 105. 
Humming-bird, 12. 

TNN, 37. 

-•- Insects, 22. 
Ishmael, 28. 

JAPANESE. 24, 25. 
" James would call down fire from 

heaven, 213. 
Jerusalem, 109. 
John the Baptist, 64, 82. 
Jordan, 70, 254. 

Joseph, Mary's husband, 37, 60. 
Joseph, who buries Jesus, 314, 316. 
Judgment-Dav, 113, 289, 292. 
Judas, 294, 803. k 

Jesus Christ is born, 39. 

is brought to Nazareth, 60. 

is baptized, 70. 

is tempted, 73. 



IKDEX. 



327 



Jesus Christ turns water into wine, 

cures the nobleman's son, 86. 
is cast out at Nazareth, 88. 
preaches from hoat, 92. 
causes the miraculous draught of 

fishes, 94. 
cures Peter's wife's mother, 97. 
cures the leper, 102. 
cures the palsy, 106. 
cures the man at Pool of Bethes- 

da, 111. 
cures the man with withered 

hand, 116. 
chooses the twelve apostles, 120. 
cures the centurion's servant, 124. 
raises the widow's son, 126. 
is anointed by a woman, 129. 
cures the blind and dumb man, 

133. 
has no home, 156. 
sleeps in the boat, 158. 
stills the storm, 158. 
casts out evil spirits, 161, 188, 198. 
is touched by the woman in the 

crowd, 165. 
raises the ruler's daughter, 168. 
heals the blind, 170, 190, 224, 254. 
heals a dumb man, 173. 
sends out his apostles to teach, 

174. 
feeds the multitude, 177. 
prays on the mountain, 182. 
walks on the water, 184. 
heals the sick in the streets, 186. 
is transfigured, 192. 
predicts his death, 196, 253. 
goes to Bethany, 219. 
raises Lazarus,229. 
heals the woman bowed down,233. 
blesses little children, 251. 
sends for the ass and the colt, 260. 
enters Jerusalem, 262. 
heals the lame and the blind in 

the temple, 264. 
curses the fig tree, 266. 
eats the passover with his disci- 
ples, 296. 
prays in the garden, 300. 
is betrayed by Judas, 303. 
is crucified, 310. 
is buried, 316. 
rises from the dead, 318. 
talks with the apostles, 320. 
ascends to heaven, 323. 



T AZARUS, brother of Martha, 229. 

-*-^ Lazarus, beggar, 243. 

Leprosy, 102. 

Lion, 18. 

Locust, 66. 

Lord's Prayer, 222. 

lYfARY, the Virgin, 37. 

xY1 - Marv, sister of Martha, 219. 

Martha, 219. 

Manger, 39. 

Miracles, 78, 86, 94, 180. 

Moon, 6. 



-^ Nazareth, 60. 
Net, 92, 152. 
Night, 6. 



O 



INTMENT, 129. 
Ox, 232. 



K 



ING, 



:3, .^. 



PALSY, 105. 
Peter, 92. 
Peter walks on the water, 184. 
Peter takes money from the fish's 

mouth, 204. 
Peter cuts off the man's ear, 306. 
Pharisees pray in streets, 282. 
Pit, 116. 
Pitcher, 298. 

Presents of wise men, 54. 
Parable of the rich fool, 135. 

of the sower, 139. 

of the mustard-seed, 143. 

of the leaven, 146. 

of the pearl, 148. 

of the fishermen with their net, 
152. 

of the unforgiving servant, 209. 

of the Good Samaritan, 215. 

of the prodigal son, 239. 

of Dives and Lazarus, 243. 

of the Pharisee and publican, 
248. 

of the vineyard, 268. 

of the wedding-feast, 274. 

of the ten virgins, 2S7. 

EATN, 9. 
Robin, 11. 
Roman soldier, 124 
Roof, 106. 

SALOME, 82. 
Satan, 73. 
Satan tempts Jesus, 74. 
Saviour, 44, 46, 48, 131. 



328 



INDEX. 



Sick boy (story), 235. 

Siloam, 224. 

Shark, 20. 

Sheep, 16, 42. 

Sheep-gate, 109. 

Ship, 26. 

Snow, 9. 

Stable, 37. 

Stars, 6, 52. 

Star of Bethlehem, 52. 

Sun, 6. 

rpEMPLE, 73. 



WALLS, 109. 
vv Water-jars, 78. 
Wheat, 140. 
Widow's mite, 284. 
Wild bee, 266. 
Wilderness, 28, 71, 120. 
Winter, 9. 
Wise men, 52. 
Wolves, 16, 42. 
Wool, 17. 

7ACCHEUS, 257. 



THE END. 



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